Mavs’ Luka Doncic a ‘Special Talent,’ Says Pacers’ Victor Oladipo

Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images

The Dallas Mavericks lost a close game at home against the Indiana Pacers 112-109 on Sunday night, but the game did not end without controversy. With 23 seconds left on the clock, Victor Oladipo hit Luka Doncic in the face with an elbow on a pass to Courtney Lee.

It was a call that should have been called, and after the Mavericks sent Oladipo to the line to stop the clock.  Doncic went over to the official to plead his case, but to no avail. Doncic usually is the last person out of the shower before talking to the media. However, after tonight’s loss, he was still in full uniform, waiting for the press to enter the locker so he could voice his frustration with tonight’s officiating.

“They hit me in the face, and that should be a foul,” Doncic said. “They should look at it. I think the rule is when you get hit in the face, they’ve got to look if it’s flagrant or no, right? Like I said, it was hit in the face three times. Two of them was not a foul.”

Earlier in the game, he was also kneed in the jaw by Pacers guard Edmond Sumner after a pump fake behind the 3-point arc in the second quarter. A foul was called at the time, but was upset that “they didn’t review any of it.” Doncic would finish with  36 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists.

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 Victor Oladipo on Doncic Progression From Year one to Year two

After the Pacers beat the Mavericks 112-109 on the road, Pacers’ All-Star Victor Oladipo had nothing but praise for Luka Doncic from transition for his rookie year to his sophomore year.

“It’s fun because I played against him in my fourth year in the league when I was in OKC. We played Real Madrid in Madrid, and he [Luka Doncic] was like 17 then, and he was just that good. I remember guarding him, saying that kid is going to be good. Lo and behold, he turned out to be Luka Doncic, and the sky is the limit. He can do whatever he pretty much wants out there; he is just the skilled. So, it’s scary to think that he only in his second year. He still has so much to learn and so much room to grow. So, a special talent for sure.”