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Luka Dončić had a disappointing exit after fouling out of Recreation 3 of the NBA Finals in opposition to the Boston Celtics, and the Dallas Mavericks star mentioned that he apologized to his teammates after the loss.
“It wasn’t the neatest factor to do, particularly on this state of affairs, it is the Finals,” he advised Malika Andrews of NBA Right now. “We bought to offer all the pieces. We’re drained on the market… It is my unhealthy, you may’t do this, particularly within the NBA Finals. Common season’s slightly bit totally different, however you may’t actually do this within the Finals.”
Malika Andrews @malika_andrews
Luka Doncic admits he let Dallas down in Recreation 3, telling his teammates: “My unhealthy, you may’t do this — particularly within the NBA Finals.”
Our interview on fouling out for the primary time within the playoffs, needing one other ache killing shot for Recreation 4 and making an attempt to make historical past down 0-3: pic.twitter.com/kRSjL93IHy
Dončić had 27 points, six assists and six rebounds in the 106-99 loss, fouling out in the final minutes of the fourth quarter after playing 38 minutes.
The 25-year-old has been one of the only bright spots for Dallas in the Finals, averaging 29.7 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the series, but his mistakes down the stretch proved costly for the Mavericks on Wednesday.
His final foul of the game came after the Celtics brought in a defensive rebound and Dončić went for the ball in the backcourt. It cost the Mavs their best player being out of the game for the final four minutes. Four of his fouls also came in the final eight minutes of the game.
Per The Athletic’s Joe Vardon, Dončić mentioned selecting up that many fouls in that wanting a time-frame has “by no means occurred” to him.
“We could not play bodily,” he mentioned. “I do not need to say nothing. You realize, six fouls within the NBA Finals, principally I am like this (motions with palms out). C’mon, man. Higher than that.”
With the Mavericks now dealing with a 3-0 deficit, they do not have time to consider Dončić’s fouls and might want to as a substitute shift their concentrate on avoiding a sweep.
Dallas appeared to have flipped a change within the second half of Wednesday’s matchup, erasing an enormous Celtics lead and slicing it to a one-point sport, however after Dončić fouled out, the Mavericks’ hopes of a comeback fell quick.
The Mavericks will now have to make historical past and overcome a 3-0 deficit to win their first title since 2011, and that quest will begin with Dončić staying out of foul hassle.