Luka Doncic led the Dallas Mavericks to a 128-114 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night. Doncic scored 50 points, surpassing 10,000 for his career, and put up 14 assists.

Doncic put on a fantastic effort to end a Christmas Day packed with NBA games, making 8 of 16 three-pointers and all 12 of his free throws. In just 358 career games, he became the sixth fastest player in NBA history to achieve 10,000 career points in the first quarter.

In Dallas’ ninth consecutive game without Kyrie Irving (heel), Dereck Lively II scored 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds after missing the previous four due to an ankle sprain. Tim Hardaway Jr. also scored 18 points.

The Suns were helped by Chimezie Metu and Grayson Allen, who improved a bench that has occasionally struggled this season.

In the third quarter, Allen scored eighteen points out of seventeen, making up 19 of his 32 points, which helped the Suns overcome a 15-point deficit. Although big player Jusuf Nurkic missed his second straight game due to personal reasons, Metu finished with a career-high 23 points and 19 rebounds.

Midway in the fourth quarter, Dallas jumped out to a 17-4 lead and held on to condemn Phoenix to their ninth loss in 12 games.

Doncic is off to a scorching start in the desert, having already defeated San Antonio with a 39-point triple-double in his last game.

He set Lively up for two easy baskets at the rim to welcome him back. After that, Doncic began to search for his shot. He led the Mavericks to a 36-24 lead in the first quarter with 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

In the second quarter, Doncic made a step-back 3-pointer and assisted Derrick Jones Jr. on a spectacular alley-oop. Doncic led Dallas to a 64-54 halftime advantage with 24 points and 8 assists.

For the majority of the first half, the Suns’ offensive execution was jumbled; beginning late in the first quarter, they missed 13 straight shots. Phoenix got to the line and made 12 of 14 free throws in the first half to keep Dallas within striking distance despite Metu’s 13 points.

In the third quarter, the Suns improved their ball movement and used penetration to cut Dallas’ lead to 75-71. After Grant Williams of Dallas grabbed Devin Booker by the jersey late in the third quarter, Phoenix took the lead thanks to a 3-pointer from Allen.

In the final seconds, Doncic’s basket put the Mavericks up to 14 points after they utilised their large run to go ahead by eight.