Luka Doncic moved to the front line after the Mavericks’ latest loss, accepting full responsibility for a critical defensive mistake late in the game against the Jazz.
Thursday night seemed to be a turning point for the Dallas Mavericks as they looked to end their three-game losing streak, even without Kyrie Irving out with a shoulder injury. Luka Doncic was ready to lead the charge against one of the league’s struggling teams, the Utah Jazz. But the Mavericks’ lingering late-game issues showed again, leading to a heartbreaking 115-113 loss after John Collins scored an unopposed dunk.
In the final minutes of the game, the Mavericks defense became a source of confusion. On the Jazz’s final offensive possession, Jordan Clarkson found himself isolated against Naji Marshall at the top of the key. Doncic and Quentin Grimes were positioned on the left side of the court, but an apparent communication breakdown occurred while they were receiving instructions from the bench. That left Collins unmarked for a clear dunk that Derek Lively II couldn’t contest in time.
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This particular mistake is particularly striking for a team with championship aspirations, and once again, Doncic didn’t hesitate to take responsibility for the Mavericks’ fall to the Jazz.
“It was a misunderstanding. I thought I was going to go and Grimes thought he was going to go… We didn’t understand the bench. That came from me,” Doncic said after the game, as reported Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News.
If the Mavericks bench had ordered a double on Clarkson, it would have made sense for Grimes to take that role, given that he was positioned higher up the court. Yet both players were caught in indecision: Grimes hesitated to put pressure on Clarkson, while Doncic found himself defending an imaginary opponent, leaving Collins with enough space to score.
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Such a lapse in concentration is unacceptable at any level, especially in the NBA. The Mavericks now find themselves sinking further into adversity, especially given the pain of their last four losses.
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Over their last four games, the Mavericks can consider themselves slightly unlucky. Their loss to the Phoenix Suns hinged on a contested foul call in the final moments and they were simply outplayed in hard-fought games against Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets and Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors. However, none of these defeats hurt as much as the one suffered against the Jazz.
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The Jazz played without their starting center, Walker Kessler, for this occasion, and Lauri Markkanen had to leave the game after receiving a blow to the face in the fourth quarter. The Mavericks managed to come back from a 16-point deficit in the final quarter, even tying the game at 113 with a three-pointer from Klay Thompson, before everything collapsed at the crucial moment.
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