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The Dallas Mavericks came up just short on Sunday against the Phoenix Suns. Dallas fell to the Suns 130-126, after Luka Doncic was unable to convert a last-second attempt to tie the game.
With the second ticking down, Doncic had gotten himself to the rim for a good look, but just failed to finish the play.
Being the high-level player that he is, Doncic was expectedly disappointed in himself after the game. He told the media that he thought the shot was going to fall.
“I thought it was in, but I just missed it,” Doncic explained.
He then shared a text message that he received from a friend, trolling him after the loss.
“One of my friends just texted (me), ‘Even I would have made that.'”
Aside from the missed last-second layup, Luka had a solid game against Phoenix. He led the Mavericks in scoring, pouring in 34 points in 35 minutes of play. The one knock on his showing against the Suns has to be his efficiency. Doncic made just 8 of his 23 attempts from the floor, and 1 of his 9 attempts from deep.
Luka Doncic Sounds Off on Devin Booker After Beef in Mavs Loss
Luckily(?) for Luka, people weren’t talking about his missed layup as much as they might have because of the incident that came after it.
All the discussion postgame was centered around Doncic’s heated altercation with Suns guard Devin Booker.
Shortly after the Slovenian star’s failed game-tying attempt, the two got into each other’s space and shared some words with one another up close.
Doncic was later asked about the incident by the media. He used the platform as a chance to get one final shot in on Booker.
“It’s fine. It’s just a competitive game, man. It’s all good. Just, next time, don’t wait until there are three seconds left to talk,” Doncic said via Landon Thomas of Mavs Fans For Life.
Devin Booker Details Exchange with Mavs’ Luka Doncic
Booker also had an opportunity to discuss what had transpired between him and the Mavericks guard. He took a different approach to his counterpart, somewhat downplaying the exchange and trying to diffuse the situation.
“I’m not here to tattletale. I mean, I was talking to the ref,” Booker replied via WFAA’s Cameron Cox. “He said something to me first and I responded. You guys (media) say you don’t want everyone to be friendly-friendly, there you go.”
Booker continued to try and curb the issue. He shared that he has no problem with Doncic on or off the court.
“Yeah, I mean it’s just two competitors going at it. Like I just said, everyone speaks on how friendly the NBA is now, and they don’t like that. I have no problem with Luka, on or off the court. But, when we’re competing, we’re competing.”
The March 5 meeting between the two squads was the last of the season. However, there’s still hope for fans that want to see more of the Mavs vs. Suns matchup. The standings in the Western Conference are very close, meaning that Phoenix and Dallas could shift around to where they match up in the playoffs this spring.
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