A 29-point triple-double is usually a great performance. However, Luka Doncic wasn’t a huge fan of the stat line that he recorded tonight against the LA Clippers. Doncic believed that he could’ve contributed much more significantly in helping Kyrie Irving pull off a historic comeback in Game 4. By comparing his outing to Irving’s efforts, Luka seemed rather embarrassed after losing 111-116.
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The Dallas Mavericks rallied back from being 31 points down. As Luka Doncic was having an off night from the floor, Kyrie Irving did a lot of the heavy lifting. But being unable to carry the team over the line, Doncic believed that he left his teammates down, Kai in particular.
“I just got to help him more. I feel like I’m letting him down, so I got to be there, I got to help him more. He’s giving everything he has and he’s been amazing for us the whole series.”
The Los Angeles Clippers grabbed an early 31-point lead thanks to Paul George’s 26-point outburst in the first half. But backed by the home crowd, Jason Kidd’s boys never lost faith as they covered the difference by the final period. After taking the lead in the dying minutes of the contest, supporters at the American Airlines Center were almost certain that the Mavericks had successfully mounted the largest comeback in playoff history. But, that didn’t seem to be the case.
Irving was hugely responsible for cutting down the enormous lead. But even a 40-point display wasn’t enough to clinch a victory. Luka Doncic, who started extremely slow, eventually finished the night with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. But Doncic’s subpar shooting – 41.7% FG and 11.1% 3FG – is one department he hoped to be better at.
Luka Doncic plays through a hurt right knee
Luka Doncic wasn’t the only one gushing over Kyrie Irving’s 40-point heroic efforts. Jason Kidd spoke about the shifty guard’s scoring eruption as the biggest positive takeaway from tonight’s loss. Giving Kai credits for preventing the Texas side from not being blown out, the Mavericks head coach said:
“If he didn’t get going, that game would have been over in the first. For him to be able to get going in the second got us back. We just talked about if we can get it within 15 there going before halftime, and we got it 17.”
While Luka Doncic was inefficient from the floor, critiques must keep in mind that the 6ft 7” guard is playing through an injury. Ahead of tonight’s encounter against the LA side, the Slovenian superstar was listed as “questionable” due to the knee injury he sustained in Game 3.
Doncic admitted that the knee soreness caused him a bit of a problem. However, he did make it pretty clear that the injury was not an excuse for an unacceptable shooting display from beyond the arc.
“It’s hurting, obviously, but that shouldn’t be an excuse. Just came out a little sloppy, so we got to do way better than that,” Doncic said.
Apart from the shooting concerns, the 25-year-old has had a phenomenal series so far. Averaging 29 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 8.5 assists per game, per NBA.com, the four-time All-NBA player is unarguably the best player among the two sides. However, he does need to improve his shooting numbers (38.6% FG and 26.5% 3FG), if the Mavericks want to make a deep run in the postseason.
