DALLAS – The Dallas Mavericks had lost 11 points and all the momentum, after going almost three minutes without scoring, before Luka Doncic presented one of the most spectacular clutch shooting displays in recent memory. the NBA.
Doncic shortened two heavily contested strokes to give the Mavs the lead in their last two possessions, the second a 27-foot loss they lost with a tenth of a second Tuesday night to seal the 110-107 victory over the Boston Celtics .
“We made a few mistakes, but I loved the way we kept our balance, hung on and made sure we had the ball in the right hands at the end,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said.
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, only one other player has achieved a pair of author 3s in the last 30 seconds of a game in the last 25 seasons. Doncic joined the exclusive company of goalie Dan Dickau, who achieved the feat of the New Orleans Hornets in a January 22, 2005 victory over the LA Clippers.
Doncic’s heroic ideologies for defeating Boston inspired Carlisle to pronounce the name of the 21-year-old All-Star in the same phrase as some NBA legends.
“The wiring of people like Luka Doncic, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant (guys who have that laser focus in these situations) is hard to explain how their mind works and how their brain works,” Carlisle said. “He’s a very rare player. Not only does he have a laser-like approach, but he has the desire and he has all the tools to offer.”
Doncic, who finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, had to dig deep into his toolbox to hit the shot that put the Mavs short of 15.8 seconds. After not finding space when trying to drive, Doncic gave the ball to Jalen Brunson and recovered it a few steps beyond the 3-point line with 11 seconds left on the shot clock. He got a screen from striker Dorian Finney-Smith that led the Celtics to change defenders, allowing Doncic to isolate himself from center Daniel Theis on the right wing. Doncic changed direction three times with regattas between his legs before stepping back with Theis’ hand on his face.
“It got out of my hands well,” Doncic said. “I was a little tired of going through all the possession, but he came in, and that’s all that matters.”
Brown, who led the Celtics with 29 points, responded by giving his second kick in the last minute, driving for a remaining position with 9.5 seconds left. Dallas had no downtime and didn’t need it, knowing that the plan was simply to get Doncic to get the ball and let him create. Doncic maneuvered to the left wing and dropped a step back to two Celtics defenders, who remembered the timbre he made to beat the Clippers in the 4th game of the playoff series in the first round last season , the most important moment in the superstar’s career. far away.
“The last one was ridiculous,” said Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who guessed he wasn’t sending any second defenders to Doncic when he was isolated from Theis from the previous possession. “Kemba [Walker] it was right there, Aaron [Nesmith] it was right there. I will not be too hard on our boys for these last two shots that Luka Doncic has just made. “
According to ESPN Stats & Information’s investigation, Doncic came into the night on 2 of 7 with possible 3s of clearance in the last 30 seconds of regulation or overtime, including his playoff dagger against the Clippers. It was 2 of 2 on Tuesday, allowing the 15-15 Mavs to reach .500 for the first time in a month.
“Sometimes you’ll miss it, like the last game against Portland,” Doncic said, referring to his open 3 that ended Dallas ’final possession of a 121-118 loss on Valentine’s Day against the Trail Blazers. “And sometimes you’ll get it.”
The Mavs, whose season appeared to be on the verge of collapsing when they had a six-game losing streak that spanned early February, have won six of their last seven games. Doncic led the NBA in scoring 34.0 points per game, shooting 51.9% from the ground and 48.3% from 3 points, while also averaging 8.1 rebounds and 8 rebounds. 6 assists.
“It brings us together,” said Brunson, who had 22 points off the bench. “Now we’re on the right track. We have to keep going.”