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Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Charlotte Hornets. Despite Doncic and Kyrie Irving in the lineup, they still could not overcome the Hornets, who were missing three of their top scorers.
After the game, a visibly-frustrated “Luka Legend” had this to say to the media:
“It’s really frustrating. I think you can see it with me on the court. Sometimes I don't feel it’s me. I'm just being out there, you know? I used to have really fun smiling on court, but it's just been so frustrating for a lot of reasons, not just basketball.”
Luka Doncic didn't further elaborate on what he was specifically frustrated about. His statement is quite alarming as just a few weeks ago, he expressed excitement about playing with Kyrie Irving.
Since the arrival of the mercurial point guard, the Mavericks have owned a 9-12 record. When both Doncic and Irving play, they’re only 3-7. The loss dropped Dallas further down the Western Conference standings and they may have to get into the playoffs via the play-in tournament.
The Dallas Mavericks played against a Charlotte Hornets team that didn’t have LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier and Kelly Oubre Jr. Even without their top three scorers, they still led 90-69 with nine minutes left in the third quarter.
Luka Doncic and crew rallied to close the gap to 97-96 with still eight minutes left in the game but couldn’t get over the hump. Dennis Smith Jr., a former Maverick, hit a killer three-pointer with 20.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter to quash Dallas’ hopes of a comeback.
The Mavs have now lost three straight games and six of their last eight games. More worryingly, Dallas lost to a team that wasn’t playing for anything other than pride. Charlotte has already been eliminated from the playoff race.
If the Mavericks don’t get their act together, they may even suffer the same fate as the Hornets. It would be a shame if they end up out of playoff contention after reaching the Western Conference Finals last season.
Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks couldn’t get their three-point shots going
Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Maxi Kleber combined to hit 3-20 from behind the arc. The Dallas Mavericks finished the night just 9-36 from deep. It seemed like they got deflated as the misses piled up.
Charlotte handily outhustled them on both ends of the floor, particularly in the first half. Dallas’ rally fell short in the fourth quarter because their shots wouldn't fall when they mattered most. They also couldn’t string together stops that would have gotten them over the hump.
The Hornets hit 11-28 from three-point range but continued to be aggressive with their drives to the rim as well. They scrapped for loose balls and played loose. The Dallas Mavericks’ last-ditch effort in the final period was a case of too little too late.
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