Brian Windhorst calls out Luka Doncic's behavior with officials: "Seen this exact script play out repeatedly"
The Dallas Mavericks' NBA Finals dream took a major hit in Game 3, after falling 3-0 to the Boston Celtics. While Luka Doncic's skills with the ball are indisputable being a scorer and facilitator, but one element of the NBA superstar's play has been scrutinized by ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst: his behavior on how he handles the officiating and getting in foul trouble.
Windhorst, known for his inside knowledge of the league, criticized Doncic's frustration with officials after Game 3 of the NBAs Finals. In a recent episode of ESPN's "Get Up" with host Mike Green and analyst Jay Williams, he stated:
"I think he is maybe one of the best players in the world it's not ..why it's frustrating because he didn't play he didn't give a winning performance you know he can talk about the fifth and sixth fouls he probably .....a regular season game he might have been ejected because of the way he was but my thing is I have now seen this ............ exact script play out repeatedly where in these really important games"
Windhorst also pointed out the Celtics are abusing Luka not paying attention to defense. Their series lead is built upon him, he's a target, and they're going to continue coming after him. In addition to that, his constant all-yapping to the refs is costing the Mavericks valuable possessions and momentum swings.
Doncic - clearly finding no favor among the officials throughout the night - was whistled for his sixth foul with 4:12 minutes left in the fourth Quarter. It was a clear reach-in foul on a Celtics fast break, the sort of foul that sent Luka on the bench, and Dallas Mavericks started to scramble. That was a key moment in the game, as Dallas was down by just three points at the time.
Luka Doncic Reflects on Fouling Out in the 4th Quarter
The weight of the NBA Finals landed heavily on the shoulders of Luka Doncic after his ejection at the end of Game 3, following a 106-99 loss to the Boston Celtics, with the Mavericks down three points and in need of an answer and momentum on their side.
Doncic picked up his sixth foul and was sent to the bench, taking Dallas' offense with him. After the match, Dounic seemed to address the media about his embarrassing actions and complained regarding the officiating of the game, as he said:
“We couldn’t play physical. I don’t want to say nothing. [But] six fouls in the NBA finals? Come on man.”
Luka Doncic finished the game with 27 points, shooting 11 of 27 shots from the field and going a dismal 1 of 7 from the three-point range. He also added six rebounds and six assists to his name, While Kyrie Irving added 35 points, three rebounds, and two assists. It's the best of his three performances in the NBA Finals.
But in the end, the team failed to pull out a win. With no team in NBA Finals history ever rallying from a 3-0 deficit, the Mavericks will have to defy all odds to capture their first championship since 2011.