Luka Doncic showed up defensively to help the Mavericks grind out a 96-93 win over the Clippers in Game 2 of their first-round series. Doncic commented on his strong defensive display on the night, remarking at how he’s turning up for the playoffs and how his haters will keep dismissing his contributions on that end.
“It’s playoffs. It’s different. They’re trying to double with me and I say no double. I take pride in my defense too. They’re always going to say that – the haters. But it’s fine. I’m out here enjoying playing basketball. That’s fun man.”
Luka Doncic on his defense tonight:
“It’s playoffs. It’s different. They’re trying to double with me and I say no double. I take pride in my defense too. They’re always going to say that – the haters. But it’s fine. I’m out here enjoying playing basketball. That’s fun man.” pic.twitter.com/IZQWqawkUX
— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) April 24, 2024
Doncic was engaged and aggressive on defense all night, making every Clippers who tried hunting him defensively regret that decision. The talented Clippers’ offensive group shot 2-17 (11.7%) while being guarded by Doncic on the evening. The only Clippers to score on Doncic were Amir Coffey and James Harden, who hit a three and went 1-5 overall. Kawhi Leonard was 0-2 while guarded by Doncic.
https://twitter.com/CurseMuse/status/1783001947940786479
While he still has weaknesses off the dribble in terms of his recovery speed, Doncic showed he could be phenomenal on-ball, even down the stretch of a game where he played 45 minutes and hit a dagger 3-pointer.
He ended the night with 32 points, six rebounds, and nine assists.
Luka Doncic Is Happy To Have A Co-Star Like Kyrie Irving
As the Mavericks take the series to Dallas for game 3 with a 1-1 advantage, he will like his chances of finally overcoming the Clippers after losing in 2020 and 2021 to them. The biggest difference that time has made is that Kyrie Irving is alongside Doncic now, with the Mavericks guard excelling as Doncic’s co-star.
Luka openly spoke about how happy he is to have Irving alongside him.
“Amazing. It’s tough for them. They double a couple times, Kai got open, so it’s tough to cover us both. It’s amazing having him on our team. He just helps me a lot, so much. Great guy and just happy that he’s here.”
Luka Doncic on Kyrie Irving:
“Amazing. It’s tough for them. They double a couple times, Kai got open, so it’s tough to cover us both…It’s amazing having him on our team. He just helps me a lot, so much. Great guy and just happy that he’s here.” pic.twitter.com/pAfitYbWQm
— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) April 24, 2024
Irving ended the night with 23 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals. While both he and Luka struggled offensively, the Mavericks as a team defended well enough to keep the offensively potent Clippers under 100 points. On a night where they struggled offensively, the Mavericks will take great comfort in this win.
Doncic hasn’t been as spectacular as his number would suggest, but he was the difference-maker in Game 2. The Clippers tried hunting him to generate easy offense and couldn’t, putting them in a situation where they had no major defensive liability to attack in their switch-heavy offense. Even Irving has held up defensively when pressured.
The Mavericks will hope to maintain the strong defense we saw last night while hoping that their offense comes around as well. This is a potent offensive team with back-to-back games where they have struggled to score, so variance would suggest they’re due for a hot shooting night.
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