After Kyrie Irving’s 40-point performance wasn’t enough to get past the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, his Dallas Mavericks co-star Luka Dončić said he feels like he’s not doing enough, per ESPN’s https://twitter.com/espn_macmahon/status/1784747808538362017.
“I feel like I’m letting him down,” Dončić said. “… I got to help him more.”
Dončić, who had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the 116-111 loss, has been dealing with right knee soreness, but he said that while he’s “obviously hurting,” it’s not an excuse.
The Clippers evened the series at two games apiece with the win on Sunday.
Dončić has averaged 29 points, 9.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists for the series and has helped lead the Mavericks to a pair of wins. His performance has been mostly outstanding, but he’s been somewhat inefficient, shooting 38.6 percent from the field and 26.5 percent from deep.
Those misses added up on Sunday when the Mavericks faced a 31-point deficit. Dallas somehow managed to come back, thanks in large part to Irving’s performance, but the Clippers hung on to win and avoid going down 3-1.
While he’s not known for his defense, Dončić has stepped up on that side of the ball during this series, which was part of the reason the Mavericks were able to take a 2-1 lead. He was somewhat sluggish on defense on Sunday, allowing James Harden to get to the basket with ease and put up 33 points.
His defensive lapses could be attributed to his knee pain, but as Dončić said, that isn’t an excuse and will be something he tries to clean up on Tuesday.
Dončić and the Mavs could have put themselves in a comfortable position with a win on Sunday, but now they’ll have to win the series in at least six games. If Dončić can clean up some sloppy play and continue putting up otherwise great performances, he and Irving can lead Dallas past Los Angeles.
