The Dallas Mavericks’ hopes for a Game 3 comeback in the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics ended rather unexpectedly. During the neck-and-neck clash, Luka Doncic fouled out of the game, unintentionally paving the way for his franchise’s defeat. A day later, the Slovenian talisman reflected on this instance, garnering the attention of the NBA community.
Advertisement
During media day ahead of Game 4, Doncic expressed his inner feelings during a candid interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews. Looking back on the moment, the Mavs guard initially couldn’t wrap his head around committing as many fouls as he did.
Revealing his disbelief, the 25-year-old mentioned, “Probably wasn’t the smartest thing. Just was a physical game. To get six fouls, I didn’t expect it”.
Nevertheless, he eventually made his peace with the unfortunate event. Shortly after this, the first thought that breached his mind was about letting his teammates down. Doncic admitted that he especially regretted watching the final minutes of the clash helplessly from the sidelines.
This instance alongside the unfavorable outcome made the Mavs star realize the consequences of his error in judgment. As a result, Doncic owned up to his mistake, stating, “It was my bad. Can’t do that, especially in the NBA Finals. Where this is a little bit different, but can’t really do that in the Finals”.
Apart from these, Doncic’s regret was possibly also fueled by the timing of his departure from the court. After registering a 20-2 spurt in the fourth quarter, the Mavs were within touching distance of the Celtics. The home crowd prayed for a miracle and the miracle was moments away from arriving.
However, it all came crashing down when Luka attempted to draw a charge on Jaylen Brown. With 4:12 remaining in the game, the former’s dubious defensive action caused him to be punished with his 6th foul call, forcing him to leave the floor. The roster consequently failed to put up a fight without his services, resulting in a heartbreaking defeat in Game 3.
Even though Doncic later took accountability for this childish error, the viewers’ initial reaction to this moment devalued his authority to a large extent.
How did the NBA followers react to Luka Donic fouling out?
This unexpected moment disappointed fans and experts past all limits. They raised question marks over Doncic’s game management skills, with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst leading the pack in this regard. During his post-game analysis, Windy stated,
“Luka fell on the ground there, in an unacceptable position to put himself in with 4 minutes left with 5 fouls. Then immediately looks at the bench and says ‘You better bleeping challenge it’ as if it’s the bench’s fault that he just made a terrible play”. [per NBA Central]
Following this, the 46-year-old also showcased doubts over Doncic’s defensive capabilities. He outlined how the opposition looked to exploit the Slovenian’s shortcomings on the defensive end.
Furthermore, Windhorst criticized the 5x All-Star’s post-game attitude, mentioning, “The fact that he came out of the game and blamed the officials showed me he’s nowhere close [to a title] yet”.
This turned the ongoing narrative heavily against Doncic. So, the 2019 ROTY has only one way out of this – pushing through these challenges to prove his worth as a competitor.
Predictably, the Mavs guard has vowed to do precisely the same in Game 4, giving his franchise one more opportunity to stay in the title contention.
