Luka Doncic is about to dunk in the lane. (0:18)
After the Dallas Mavericks were pushed to the brink of elimination in the Western Conference finals, Luka Doncic looked at the situation through a long-term lens.
The Mavs tried to mount a fourth-quarter comeback in the Game 3 loss to the Golden State Warriors, but it never gained much steam. The Warriors continued to target him on the defensive end while the Mavericks were down by 19 points, and he had the game's worst plus-minus as a result.
The loss that put the Mavs in danger of being swept in the conference finals was accepted by Doncic, who is now 2-6 when he scores 40 or more points in a playoff game in his career.
Doncic said he was still learning and that he played poorly in the first two quarters. That is on me. I am still learning. I think after this season is over, we will look back and learn a lot.
It is my first time in the conference finals of the NBA. I am 23, man. I am still learning a lot.
| Year | Player | Losses |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Luka Doncic | 3 |
| 2009 | LeBron James | 3 |
| 1977 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 3 |
| 1965 | Jerry West | 3 |
| Source: ESPN Stats & Info |
According to the data, Doncic is the sixth player in NBA history to lose both games while recording consecutive 40-point playoff games.
Doncic wishes it didn't include him. He didn't want to join Rick Barry as the only players to suffer losses in four consecutive 40-plus point playoff performances.
The Dallas team that exceeded expectations has been outclassed by the Warriors.
Doncic said that nobody had them being in the conference finals. Everyone knows their role. Everybody stays together. They are a long-built team. They have been together for a long time, and I think they are playing good basketball, so that is going to be difficult. It has been difficult over the past three games.
Dallas is gaining experience by competing against a team that features future Hall of Famers Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
Kidd said that this was just the beginning of the journey. That is a joke if you did not get it. This is bigger than just one game or a series. This is huge for our franchise because we didn't have you here. All of you were supposed to be on vacation.
You can call them a dynasty if you go through this. They have three great players who will all be in the Hall of Fame. This is not the end. This is just the beginning.
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