Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (L) stands on the bench after fouling out during a loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday in Dallas. Photo by Adam Davis/EPA-EFE
June 13 (UPI) — Luka Doncic criticized officials for not allowing the the Dallas Mavericks to “play physical” after fouling out in a loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Doncic scored 27 points, but was inefficient and often slow on the defensive end in the 106-99 loss Wednesday in Dallas. The All-NBA guard scored 17 in the first half and eight in the third quarter. He made just 1 of 5 shots for two points, while picking up four fouls in the fourth quarter before fouling out with 4:12 remaining.
“I don’t know,” Doncic told reporters. “We couldn’t play physical. I don’t know. I don’t want to say nothing. You know, six fouls in the NBA Finals, basically I’m like this [putting hands up]. C’mon, man. Better than that.”
Doncic, who fouled out just twice through his previous 447 NBA appearances — including the playoffs, was called for his final two fouls within a 26-second span. He left the game amid a Mavericks rally in which they cut their 21-point deficit to just one in the final minutes.
“I wish I was out there,” Doncic told reporters, when asked about his departure.
Doncic, who led the NBA with 33.9 points per game this season, made just 11 of his 27 shot attempts en route to his 27-point effort in Wednesday’s loss. He made just 1 of 7 3-point attempts. The five-time All-Star said the Mavericks’ rally was a “really positive thing,” despite the end result of Game 3.
“Like I said, it’s not over until it’s over,” Doncic said. “We’ve just got to believe. Like I always say, it’s first to four. We’re going to stay together. We lose together, we win together. So we’ve got to stay together.”
The Celtics were called for 19 personal fouls, compared to the Mavericks’ 17. No Mavericks player, outside of Doncic, totaled more than three fouls. Guards Jrue Holiday and Derrick White were called for foul fouls apiece for the Celtics.
The Celtics sent a myriad of playmakers at Doncic, forcing the guard to defend their best offensive weapons.
“He’s definitely got a bull’s-eye on his chest,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said, when asked about Doncic. “He’s got to be able to guard and understand that we’re there to protect him and help him if he does get beat. Again, he’s carrying a load offensively.
“They are putting him in every pick-and-roll and iso. He’s got to be able to play the game where he can rest on offense and let others carry the load.”
Star guard Kyrie Irving, who scored a game-high 35 points in the loss, called Doncic’s foul-out “unfortunate.”
“It was unfortunate that the [final] foul was called,” Irving said. “Luka picked up his fifth and sixth in a matter of a three-minute or two-minute span. It’s tough. We still had to figure out a way to win the basketball game. We put our best foot forward, especially being down 21. We easily could have packed up and folded. But we didn’t give up. We kept playing.”
The Mavericks, who hope to become the first team in history to overcome a 3-0 NBA Finals deficit, will host the Celtics in Game 4 at 8:30 p.m. EDT Thursday in Dallas.
“I think, when you look at experience, we’re all learning what it means to be on this stage and going through it,” Kidd said. “There’s a lot of young players on our side who have never done this before. Just understand, we’ll talk about that, that this experience that we’re going through is a healthy thing. It’s not a bad thing.
“We’re down 3-0. We felt like Game 2 and Game 3 were better for us. That’s the way we have to play. Then, offensively we just got to get some other people to step up and make some shots.”
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