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Dallas Mavericks superstar guard Luka Doncic once again stuffed the stat sheet against the Boston Celtics on Monday. However, his all-around performance wasn’t enough, as the Mavericks fell 119-110 at home, leaving the 24-year-old looking dejected after the game.
Doncic finished with 33 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists, marking his eighth triple-double of the season and the 64th of his career. However, he shot just 40.0% on 30 shot attempts.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks struggled to contain Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The two combined for 73 points on 55.8% shooting.
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After Dallas’ disappointing defensive outing, Doncic was informed about his coach, Jason Kidd’s, postgame remarks. Kidd called out his players for their lack of focus and complaining too much to the officials.
The four-time All-Star wasn’t sure if he agreed with his coach’s assessment. However, he still took responsibility for his inefficient shooting performance.
“I don’t know. I think I played bad, missed a lot of layups,” Doncic said.
The Mavericks superstar also praised the Celtics for their all-around dominance.
“But they have an amazing team,” Doncic said. “They are No. 1 in the NBA, they have a great defense, they have two guys that can play basketball really well and all-around other guys that can really play too. So, they have an amazing team. That’s why they’re No. 1.”
The win marked the Celtics’ second straight as they continue to improve upon their league-best 34-10 record. The Mavericks (24-19), on the other hand, have lost two consecutive games, dropping them to eighth in the Western Conference.
Also Read: Luka Doncic Shoes: Which pairs of Luka 1s did 4x NBA All-Star pull off vs Celtics? (January 22)
Joe Mazzulla praises Celtics for dispatching Luka Doncic, Mavericks on second night of back-to-back
Dallas entered Monday with a considerable rest advantage, having not played since Wednesday against the LA Lakers. Meanwhile, Boston was coming off a road game against the Houston Rockets on Sunday.
However, the Celtics showed no signs of fatigue on the second night of a back-to-back, as they comfortably dispatched Luka Doncic and the Mavericks.
Boston’s impressive effort left coach Joe Mazzulla raving about his team’s resilience.
“I just told our guys in the locker room, there’s only one time where I saw the schedule catch up to us,” Mazzulla said. “I forgot it was a back-to-back just watching our guys compete. I couldn’t tell. It’s a credit to them.”
The Celtics will work to keep up their strong play on the road against the Miami Heat (24-19) on Thursday. On the flip side, the Mavericks will look to snap their two-game losing streak when they host the Phoenix Suns (25-18) on Wednesday.
