Luka Doncic

2022 - 5 - 6

Post cover — Image courtesy of "New York Post"

Jason Kidd calls out Luka Doncic before Game 3: 'He's got to play ... (New York Post)

Chris Paul and the Suns have figured out how target Doncic in an offensive attack that consists of the Phoenix point guard luring him into the ...

According to Kidd, it’ll come down to Doncic’s defending if the Mavericks to make a comeback. But his offensive efforts haven’t been enough to steal a win so far in the series. And we’re playing the best team in the league, so we’ve got to get other guys going.” “We’ve got to get other guys shooting the ball better. Afterwards, the Slovenian star said, “I’ve just got to play better defense. Doncic was heavily targeted by the Suns in Wednesday’s Game 2 loss.

Luka Doncic was hunted relentlessly by the Suns' offense in the ... (SB Nation)

The Suns put a target on Luka Doncic's defense and got easy bucket after easy bucket.

If Doncic doesn’t get better and fitter, he risks part of his reputation being tied to getting smoked on defense the way he did in Game 2. Doncic probably isn’t at 100 percent health-wise after suffering a calf injury in the last game of the regular season. There is no spot on the floor safe against the Suns, and Doncic is learning that lesson the hard way. Sometimes the Suns had one of their star guards drag Doncic out of the perimeter and then blow by him for an easy bucket or free throws. Doncic ended the night with 35 points on 59 percent shooting, but his inability to hold his own defensively helped doom Dallas on the night. He drained a three-pointer when Mikal Bridges went under an early screen, and stepped into triples with ease when Phoenix tried to switch a big man onto him.

Mavs news: Luka Doncic's 'insane' take on difference-maker for Dallas (ClutchPoints)

Luka Doncic and the Mavs finally got one win against the Suns in their playoffs series, thanks to their brilliant defense in Game 3.

Luka Doncic was on point with his offense once again, finishing with a near triple-double of 26 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. Phoenix still shot well, but their scoring opportunities were limited and finished with just 34 shots made on 70 attempts. The Slovenian star agreed, noting that he needs to step up beyond just offense if they want to have any chance to win.

Luka Doncic is more than an All-Star — he's a good citizen, too (The Dallas Morning News)

This Week in Luka” is a weekly newsletter curated by SportsDay Mavericks beat writer Callie Caplan — all about your favorite Dallas Mavericks superstar. To.

Watch for this next: The Mavs have never faced an 0-2 series deficit in Luka’s three playoff runs — until now. “This Week in Luka” is a weekly newsletter curated by SportsDay Mavericks beat writer Callie Caplan — all about your favorite Dallas Mavericks superstar. Best of the week: With 45 points in Game 1 against the Suns and 35 in Game 2, Luka upped his playoff scoring average to 33.5 points per game, surpassing Michael Jordan’s 33.45 for the best mark among all players who’ve appeared in at least 10 postseason contests. No doubt fans will focus most on the basketball outcomes this weekend — and perhaps into next week — as Luka tries to power the Mavs out of an 0-2 second-round series hole against the NBA-best Suns and extend the winningest season of his four so far in Dallas. - Starting The Luka Doncic Foundation in the Dallas area to pair with his Slovenian non-profit to help children battling illnesses and other severe circumstances. Instead of rattling off a few quick autographs and hustling away to finish prep for the most important playoff game (yet) in his career, Luka waved the usher off.

Kidd: Suns will hunt Luka Doncic, “He's got to participate. He's got to ... (NBC Sports)

The Phoenix Suns went right at Luka Doncic in Game 2, dragging him into pick-and-roll defense and wearing him down. Kidd says to expect more in Game 3.

He’s going to have to defend. And so he’s going to have to do it tonight. Doncic has been the Mavericks’ offense in this series and when he faded from exhaustion in Game 2, so did Dallas. Doncic is going to see the same thing in Game 3. He’s got to play defense. The Phoenix Suns targeted Luka Doncic 50 times in Game 2 according to former Mavericks front office man Haralabos Voulgaris. Whether that specific number is accurate or not is moot, the eye test showed Chris Paul and company hunted Doncic, dragging him into pick-and-rolls or isolations seemingly every trip down the court.

Luka Doncic: "I think I made a big jump on defense this year ... (TalkBasket.net)

Luka Doncic was close to triple-double as the Mavericks bounced back after losing the first two second round games against the Suns by winning Game 3.

I think I made a big jump on defense this year and the second half was horrible by me and I knew I had to get back to my team and play better defense.” “That was really poor that second half [of Game 2],” the Dallas point guard said. After Game 3 he admitted that his performance in defense was bad in the second half of the previous game and that he wanted to make up for that.