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Luka Doncic Owns up to Mavs’ Late-Game Disarray in Cavs Heartbreak

Published 12/28/2023, 12:52 AM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

A game that was in the bag for the Dallas Mavericks quickly got out of hand. The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Mavs on their home court by a three-point margin. As disappointing as it was for fans, Dallas All-Star guard Luka Doncic may have been more livid. This matchup could be boiled down to a poor fourth-quarter performance from the Dallas Mavericks that changed the outcome of the game.

After the loss, Doncic opened up about the Mavs’ 4th quarter collapse.

Luka Doncic owns up to the Mavs’ recent loss

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The Cleveland Cavaliers won the game 113-110, defeating the Mavericks. A strong start from the Mavericks that would’ve been an easy win turned the other way in the fourth quarter. The Cavs outscored the Mavericks by 7 points in the third and then went on to outscore Dallas by 11 points in the fourth. After the game, Doncic sat down with the media and took the blame upon himself. When talking about the game, Doncic said, We missed a lot of good shots. That was on me in the fourth quarter.”

Doncic had an amazing first quarter as he went off for 20 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists on 61% shooting from the field. By the end of the first half, Doncic had 29 points in just 19 minutes of playing time.

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It was the Mavs performance coming into the second half that led the Cavaliers to make a comeback and win the game. What made it more disappointing for the Mavericks was the shorthanded Cavs team getting the best of them.

The Cavaliers were missing out on all three of their leading scorers; Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley. And yet, the team ended up going back home with a win in their column.

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How long will Doncic have to do it all?

The Dallas Mavericks have been playing without Kyrie Irving for quite some time now. Which automatically shifts the majority of the offensive responsibilities on the shoulders of Luka Doncic. Doncic finished the game with 39 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks for the game. He shot 14-29 from the field and went a slow 3-10 from beyond the arc. Luckily, Doncic had Seth Curry help him out coming off the bench.

But it finally came down to the last play that sealed the deal. A double team on Doncic led to a Seth Curry three, and unfortunately for Steph’s younger brother, his shot didn’t go in.

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Going to face the Minnesota Timberwolves next, let’s see if Doncic and the Mavs can hold on to that aggression as fuel for the next game.

Watch This Story – Only player other than Luka Doncic who grabbed 30 points or more in the first 8 games of the season

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Written by:

Abhishek Dhariwal

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One take at a time

“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best” - Tim Duncan said this once, and I took it as a sign to keep working on myself, without fail! Being a basketball player all my life, it was natural for me to eventually become an NBA writer at EssentiallySports.
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Edited by:

Sameen Nawathe