The Dallas Mavericks registered their third loss of the season against a New Orleans Pelicans side that has struggled to get going. The 131-110 blowout win leaves the Mavericks with an 8-3 record and came after an uncharacteristic night for Luka Doncic, who has been in flawless form until now.
Advertisement
Doncic returned with just 16 points after going 5-16 with his shooting and saw fellow superstar Kyrie Irving struggle on the night as well. Still, the Slovenian himself appeared to be quite relaxed, claiming after the game that his team simply had a bad night. The clip of the interview was shared on Twitter by NBA analyst Grant Afesth.
Asked about his thoughts after a poor night for the entire team, Doncic claimed that people needed to understand that the NBA regular season consists of a total of 82 games.
“People don’t understand it’s 82 games in the NBA season. Of course, there will be a bad night, you know? It’s the NBA; you have another chance tomorrow,” he said, suggesting that the Mavericks will simply look to bounce back quickly.
Despite the loss, the Mavericks are only third in the Western Conference and will be delighted with the way both Doncic and Irving have started the season. Despite consistent concerns about the two being able to play together, Irving has started the season strongly.
Regardless, the concern following the Pelicans’ loss appears to be down to the Mavericks’ difficult situation with respect to the In-Season tournament. With the loss against the Pelicans, they are now 1-2 in a difficult Western Conference B group. The Mavericks will take on the Rockets on November 28 which is their final group stage match for the tournament.
Luka Doncic and the Mavs are almost out of the In-Season tournament
The Mavericks’ loss against the Pelicans means that they are placed 4th in their 5-team group. They are second last over LA Clippers who have a 0-2 record until now and need to be in the Top 2 in order to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Defending NBA Champions Denver Nuggets (2-0) are at the top of Group B, followed by the Rockets with a 1-0 record. The Pelicans’ surprise win means they are now third, and in contention alongside the Rockets to go through.
The Mavericks are practically out, and will need to win their last game, and then hope that the resultant 2-2 record is enough to gain them one of the 2 wild-card spots on offer for the teams finishing 2nd in their group. That, however, seems to be next to impossible, considering only 2 of the 6 2nd-placed teams will qualify for the knockouts.
