Luka Doncic arguably had his worst shooting performance of the season on Tuesday against the San Antonio Spurs, but his Dallas Mavericks his teammate Kyrie Irving doesn’t make a big deal out of it. The veteran guard isn’t worried about the superstar scorer either.
For Irving, it’s normal for players to have bad nights. What is important is how one adapts when such a situation arises. And considering what Doncic did, Irving was more than satisfied.
Luka Doncic’s bad night for the Dallas Mavericks
Doncic is on the right track to his first scoring title this 2023-24 season, although on Tuesday he fell well below his season average as he struggled with his shooting. Doncic made only six of his 24 attempts on the court, finishing with 18 points.
The Slovenian star couldn’t even connect the usual deep shots he makes, as he recorded an abysmal 16.7 percent shooting rate from deep after going 2-of-12.
San Antonio did a great job of making life difficult for Doncic, as the Spurs held the Mavericks star to 3-of-13 shooting in the first half. Luka just couldn’t get over it.
The good thing about Doncic, though, is that he didn’t force it further when he knew he couldn’t do it offensively. Instead, he made sure to contribute to other purposes. The 25-year-old also collected 10 rebounds and 16 assists to achieve a triple-double.
Additionally, despite his shooting woes, Doncic still had a +5 on plus-minus scoring, a testament to his massive impact in the 113-107 victory.
Kyrie Irving reacts to Luka Doncic’s shots during Dallas Mavericks vs. San Antonio Spurs
In his post-match press release, Kyrie Irving – who managed the Dallas Mavericks scoring with 28 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists – praised Luka Doncic for remaining aggressive. He also expressed his understanding of Doncic’s shooting issues, emphasizing that it was their job to help him in such difficult times.
“THE the guy is hungry to be perfect every night and I admire that about him. But he is human, just like the rest of us. And when he’s not able to make shots like he usually does, we have to get him back. I like that he’s always aggressive,” Irving shared, via Grant Afseth of DallasBasketball.com.
Doncic, for his part, appreciated his teammates and made sure to give them the credit they were due.
“We have a great team. This is why we must win today. Everyone who walks on the court plays hard, and in the end we got a victory, which we came here for,” Doncic explained, according to Afseth.
“I think Dante played wonderfully, and Maxi too. Obviously, Kai, you know, Kai carried us today, but even Dante and Maxi, throughout the whole stretch, they were important for us.
With victory, the Mavericks improved to 40-29 on the season, good for the seventh seed and well on the verge of winning the sixth seed.
