The Dallas Mavericks couldn’t complete the sweep over the Minnesota Timberwolves on their home court, falling to a 105-100 loss in Game 4. Luka Doncic had an excellent run through the first three games before having an inefficient shooting night in this game. He took the blame for the Mavericks’ poor performance after the game.
“That game is on me. I didn’t give enough energy. We gotta do better. There’s one more game, so we have to focus on the next one.”
Luka Doncic says the Game 4 loss is on him, and says he didn’t bring enough energy. pic.twitter.com/kFlIOGOEql
— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) May 29, 2024
Doncic had an acerbic reaction to a reporter asking him about his and the team’s mindset heading into Game 5, with Doncic giving a very matter-of-fact answer.
“We have to win four games. What mindset? We’ve gotta win one more game, that’s it.”
Luka Doncic on his mindset as the Mavs head back to Minnesota:
“Gotta win one more game, that’s it.” pic.twitter.com/Z5dCDCh9Un
— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) May 29, 2024
Doncic put up 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists for his fourth triple-double of the 2024 Playoffs. Even with those numbers, Doncic can’t argue that his scoring was inconsistent. He also did not maintain the defensive intensity we’ve seen in this series. He is still dealing with a knee injury, but we’ve seen him dominate games and lead Dallas to win while struggling with this.
He’s averaging 31.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 9.0 assists in this series. The Mavericks can’t afford to let the Timberwolves back into this series, especially with the knowledge that the Boston Celtics are already resting up for the NBA Finals.
The Timberwolves could push the Mavericks into uncomfortable territory, so it’ll be crucial for Dallas to close this series out in Game 5.
The Mavericks Played With Poor Energy
Luka Doncic was the first one to speak after the game, so he set a tone of accountability amongst his teammates. Mavericks’ center Daniel Gafford backed up the 25-year-old Slovenian guard by criticizing the energy he played with as well.
“It might have been 50-50, I really can’t talk for everybody else. I know for a fact that I didn’t come out ready to play at all, my energy was low and I had to dig deep and pull some energy out to be able to play basketball. Those guys don’t wanna go down easy, they came out tonight and hit us in the mouth, so we got to adjust.”
I asked Daniel Gafford about the team’s lack of energy:
“Might have been 50-50, I really can’t talk for everybody else. I know for a fact that I didn’t come out ready to play at all, my energy was low…”
Gafford says he could tell the difference with the energy tonight compared… pic.twitter.com/21ngX91mZu
— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) May 29, 2024
Kyrie Irving was seen trash-talking before the game, saying that the Timberwolves were coming to play the Super Bowl while the Mavericks were treating it like another game. Those comments were definitely a mistake, as it was evident with the regular-season approach the Mavericks had for this game.
Jason Kidd needs to rally the troops and push them to come out strong in Game 5. The Mavericks are among the best road playoff teams in the NBA right now, having a better record on the road in the 2024 Playoffs. Hopefully, an electric Wolves crowd charges up the likes of Doncic and Irving, who thrive in hostile environments.
The Mavericks haven’t lost back-to-back games all throughout the Playoffs, with the last time they fell to consecutive losses coming in early March. If there’s a team designed to buck this trend, it’s the Wolves, who have gotten confidence after a deflating opening three games in this series.
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