Kyrie Irving’s Scoring Brilliance Not Enough as Luka Doncic Blames Himself for Clippers’ Victory
DALLAS — Kyrie Irving’s scoring brilliance allowed the Mavericks to rally from a 31-point deficit in Sunday’s Game 4, but Luka Doncic blamed himself for the Clippers escaping with a series-evening 116-111 victory.
Irving scored all 40 of his points after Los Angeles went up 31 midway through the second quarter, including an acrobatic layup over three Clippers defenders to give the Mavs the lead with 2:15 remaining.
But Doncic struggled by his MVP-candidate standards while dealing with soreness in his right knee that caused him to be listed as questionable. He finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, but he shot poorly (10-of-24 from the floor, 1-of-8 from 3-point range) and was frequently exploited on the defensive end.
“I just got to help him more,” Doncic said of Irving. “I feel like I’m letting him down, so I got to be there. I got to help him more. He’s given everything that he has, and he’s been amazing for us the whole series.”
Irving is averaging 28.8 points while shooting 51.3% from the floor and 48.5% from 3-point range. Doncic is averaging 29.0 points and has struggled to find his touch against the Clippers, shooting 38.6% from the floor and 26.5% from 3-point range in the series.
Doncic has dealt with stiffness and soreness in his right knee since injuring it during the first quarter of Game 3. It has affected his ability to move laterally and create separation off the dribble and on his stepback jumper.
Doncic spent the entire game in foul trouble after picking up two fouls in the first three minutes. He was whistled for his fifth foul with 5:55 remaining.
Doncic especially struggled guarding James Harden, who scored 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, when he hit five floaters in the lane.
Kidd said one of the Mavs’ halftime adjustments was to make it a priority to chase Harden and Paul George (33 points) off the 3-point line. The Clippers’ star duo combined to go 10-of-13 from 3-point range while scoring 44 points in the first half.
The frustration of Doncic, who was called for his second technical foul of the series, was evident throughout the game. He raised his arms in an exaggerated display of relief when he made his lone 3, which tied the game with 5:03 remaining. But he wasn’t able to contribute in crunch time, as his only bucket in the final five minutes was a layup with 22 seconds remaining, when the outcome had been essentially decided.
“He wants to play well and knowing he wants to make a bigger impact, even though he’s almost averaging triple-double for the series, but we’re always critical of him and I think he’s always critical of himself,” Irving said. “So there’s a young kid in the playoffs going against a team that beat him twice, so there’s a little bit of mental fatigue there as well. But I think this is what makes the beauty of sports come together.
“We have another opportunity on Wednesday to be in L.A. and be better. So hopefully these next two days will be good to him — well, I know they’ll be good to him — and we’ll be ready for Wednesday’s game.”
