“Been HORRIBLE this entire postseason” - Former NBA champ goes hard at Luka Doncic after Mavs’ Game 4 collapse 

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic was lambasted by former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins on X/Twitter after the side slumped to a 100-96 defeat against the OKC Thunder at the American Airlines Center on Monday.

Doncic, who has had a rather average postseason by his standards was criticized by the former Boston Celtics big for the dip in form. The Slovenian ended with a triple-double, propping up 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. His poor shooting saw him go 6-for-20 from the field and 2-for-9 from the 3-point line as the Thunder outclassed the hosts to even the series.

Perkins minced no words when he took to X/Twitter:

"Luka has been HORRIBLE this entire postseason."

Luka Doncic has been averaging 26.7 ppg, 9.6 rpg, and 8.8 apg in the 2024 NBA playoffs. This is a sharp decrease compared to the 33.9 ppg, 9.2 rpg, and 9.8 apg. Doncic's last five games have seen him average 23.2 ppg, 10.0 rpg, and 8.8 apg.

On the game front, P.J. Washington led Dallas with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Kyrie Irving had another quiet game in the series with just nine points.

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Luka Doncic admits to battling sore frame in second round of playoffs

Leading up to the second-round matchup against the OKC Thunder, both the Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic knew that the latter was not at 100 percent. He has been playing through injuries and the physical defense from the Thunder left the guard banged up in Game 3.

Speaking to the media after winning the contest, Donic chose to focus on winning the series, while also adding how it felt to be part of a skirmish where teams displayed brute physicality:

“Everything, man... In the last play, when I split two defenders, obviously nobody touched me. Hurt my knee again. But just trying to battle out there, man. We gotta win. That’s all that matters.”

Doncic was referring to the turnover he committed with 12.0 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter while trying to split the Thunder defense but hit to the ground after he was trapped between OKC's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren. Despite the hurdle, Dallas managed to hold on to a win after Irving's clutch performance in the last game.

The action now shifts back to the Paycom Center in Oklahoma with both teams meeting on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET. Doncic and the Mavs will need two more wins to close out the series and it will be interesting to see if the superstar can roar back to form in these two massive contests.