Luka Doncic got ripped by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst shortly after the Dallas Mavericks lost to the Boston Celtics in Game 3. Windhorst joined Scott Van Pelt on ESPN Sportscenter to discuss the 106-99 Celtics win to take a 3-0 series lead in the NBA Finals.
Windhorst called his defensive performance “unacceptable” and said that “he is costing his team because of how he treats the officials.” Windhorst also said that the Mavericks will never win a championship unless someone gets Luka to change his attitude toward the refs and how he approaches defense.
Doncic fouled out with 4 minutes left in the game with the Mavericks trailing 93-90. In the post-game press conference, he subtly cited the refs for being the reason why he fouled out.
The 6th foul call had many fans up in arms, as they felt it was ticky-tack to call so late in a close NBA Finals game.
Luka Doncic Fouls Out Of Game 3
It was a game to forget for the Mavericks superstar. Down 0-2 in the series and needing a win at home, Dallas needed Luka to help get them back in the series. Doncic struggled shooting the basketball all night and finished with 27 points and 11/27 from the field. The worst part of the game was his defense.
The Celtics made sure to target Luka all game long and this got him into many uncomfortable guarding positions. He wound up picking up his 5th foul on a reach-in with 4:40 in the game. 30 seconds later, he picked up his 6th on a blocking foul while the Celtics were on a fast break. Many were upset at the refs for calling that to foul him out, but if you watch the replay, it was a blocking foul. Dallas challenged the call but it was confirmed as a block. Doncic was out for the game.
Kyrie Irving’s best game of these finals wasn’t enough to will the Mavericks to victory down the stretch. Dallas will now be facing elimination on Friday night. No team in NBA playoff history has ever come back from a 0-3 series deficit.
Brian Windhorst Calls Out Luka
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Brian Windhorst is one the most well-known NBA reporters and has been for nearly 2 decades. I was surprised to hear him go in on Luka after the game. Windhorst said what he did in Game 3 was unacceptable and why the Mavericks aren’t going to win. He also cited Luka’s press conference after the game blaming the officials as why they won’t win a championship.
I don’t completely agree with Windhorst here, but I will say the constant whining during and after the game at officials is a bad look. He has to take more accountability for being poor on defense. Also, as a team leader you have to be able to face the fire and not just blame others all the time.
Mavericks Facing Elimination
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Now the Mavericks are down in the series 0-3. NBA playoff teams down 0-3 have a record of 0-156 in the series so it is looking grim in Dallas. Game 4 is Friday night.
The Celtics will be looking to win their NBA-leading 18th championship, while the Mavericks try to force a game 5 back in Boston.
About the Author
Cory is an Oregon Duck alumni from the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been playing, watching, and following basketball + baseball his whole life. Follow Cory on X @cory_pappas1 for more breaking stories and game previews.
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