The Dallas Mavericks played host to the Golden State Warriors tonight. But despite the Warriors being depleted, the Mavericks couldn’t take advantage and lost. If the defeat wasn’t embarrassing itself, Mavericks’ Luka Doncic ended up on the wrong side of a highlight.

Late into the third quarter, Warriors’ Damion Lee drove towards the paint with Doncic on him. The Slovenian is known for his poor defense, and it was highlighted in this play. Unable to stop, he not only conceded an and-1 but also got called a “little a** boy” by the Warriors’ guard.

Since his arrival in the league, Luka has been an offensive genius. But his lack of defense has been a glaring weakness, one that he is yet to improve on. The Mavs have suffered because of that, and this play was another reminder for him to step up defensively.

What is going on with Luka Doncic and the Mavericks?

The three-time champions arrived with just Draymond Green as their only fit big man. This gave the Mavs a ‘big’ advantage, one they failed to capitalize on.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 25 points in 25 minutes and also shot efficiently, going 9-16 from the field, and 5-8 from three. But with the tallest player on the Warriors being just 6’7, the 7’3 big man should have done better to take advantage of these mismatches.

He got the points for them with his shooting only approach. But posting up would have invited double teams, which could have created more opportunities for their shooters.

KP also had just six offensive rebounds, which is unimpressive in such circumstances. He should have been their leader tonight, but instead, he was one of the reasons behind their 31 point loss.

Doncic also had an unimpressive game. In such games where the team needs him the most, he has failed to deliver. He had 27 points, but shot just 8-20 from the field and also had five turnovers.

The Mavericks have been very poor on defense, and tonight, they allowed the Warriors to shoot 57% as a team. They had just broken their six-game losing streak but have lost another crucial game tonight. They are far from a playoff team as it stands, and it is likely that theywill finish out of the top 8 this season.

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