The Mavericks’ games of late have not been as fun as Dallas fans would have expected them to be after getting Kyrie Irving in their already great backcourt. Luka Doncic took care of it on Tuesday as he took on his former coach’s Pacers.
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The Mavericks were 1-4 in their last five games coming into this one and trailed the game by 10 points in the first half. However, they went on a 20-7 run in the third quarter which is when Doncic did something outrageously funny which did not sit well with Rick Carlisle.
Luka Doncic trolls his former coach Rick Carlisle mid-game
During a play in 3rd quarter, at which time Mavs were trailing the Pacers 78-76, Luka while driving to the basket, found a wide-open Reggie Bullock in the corner who converted the 3-pointer to give Dallas a 1-point lead.
Just after completing this play Doncic hilariously told his former coach to call a timeout and sent fans in the building and on social media into a frenzy.
And took it perfection did Carlisle. The Pacers made a comeback and did not let Mavericks get away after putting a stop to that 20-7 run.
Although the Mavs won 3/4 quarters in the game and the Pacers couldn’t make a single shot for the last 6 minutes in the game, Carlisle and Co’s smart work and the opponent’s inefficiency and mistakes won them the game. Irony at its best.
Rick and Luka’s relationship
The relationship between the two went sour after Carlisle and Mavs management traded Dennis Smith Jr. back in 2019 without their young superstar Doncic giving a thumbs up to it. The now Charlotte guard had become Luka’s best friend in the Slovenian’s first year in the league.
Doesn’t this make this ante by Doncic today even more hysterical? After all, Irving must be having some effect on his new teammate. If only Doncic’s team won the game, this would have been really sweet.
Rick on the other hand just had good things to say for Doncic, Irving, and the new-look Mavs before the game.
