DALLAS – Luka Doncic, who is in the midst of the most prolific scoring round in Dallas Mavericks history, couldn’t have wished for a better look with the game at stake on Sunday night.
And he couldn’t believe he couldn’t make it, grabbing his temples with both hands and staring at the beams of the American Airlines Center after his wide-open 3-pointer was rimmed from the left wing with five seconds to go to a 121 – 118 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
“It doesn’t matter if I’m confident or not. The shot went out,” said Doncic, who had 44 points in 14-of-20 shootings and nine assists in the loss. It was clear I was disappointed. I thought it was in there, and it went in and out, so I was disappointed. Its my fault. I should have made the shot. ‘
Doncic hasn’t been missing much lately. His 90 points over the weekend – he had a career-high 46 on Friday in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans – are the most in a two-game period in franchise history. He shot 62% of the floor in the pair of games, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range in both games.
The Trail Blazers didn’t want to let the Mavs make an effort at all for possession, let alone give Doncic a good view, as Portland planned to make a foul to send Dallas to the free-throw line. However, Doncic was released after receiving a screen from Kristaps Porzingis and came off an uncontested shot that would have tied the score.
“If he had made that shot nine more times, I think he would have made it nine times in a row,” said Mavs coach Rick Carlisle. ‘I mean it was in and out. And that’s the man we want to take. I thought that was a great look, so we’re disappointed. ‘
Dallas rallied ten points behind in the fourth quarter and tied the score with 49.5 seconds to go when Dorian Finney-Smith made a 3 on a Doncic feed. But Portland superstar Damian Lillard gave the Blazers the lead for good on the next possession, adding to his extensive collection of clutch buckets by swinging a step back 3 over Finney-Smith.
“He sat down as if he would get good ball possession in the defense,” said Lillard, who had 34 points and 11 assists. “It’s what you expect from defenders in this league, but I found they wouldn’t double up, and I thought, ‘It’s going to be one-on-one.’ I got the photo I wanted. I looked sleek. In my mind, I thought, “Okay, if this is what it’s going to be, I’m fine with this.” “
Finney-Smith was only left behind Lillard at the top of the arc because Dallas didn’t implement the game plan. According to Carlisle, the coaches of the Mavs called for a doubles team to get the ball out of Lillard’s hands.
“Communication didn’t get there,” Carlisle said. “He hit a difficult shot, but it’s a shot he makes regularly.”
No one in the NBA takes more shots in those situations than Lillard. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, this was his 33rd career basket in the last minute of a game, including the playoffs, the most in the league since Lillard was drafted in 2012.
Lillard also leads the league this season with 65 points in pairing time, which is defined as the last five minutes of regulation or extension when the score is within five points, shooting 58% off the floor in those situations. He had seven of Portland’s nine docking points on Sunday.
“He’s been doing it for a long time,” said Portland coach Terry Stotts. “Often the most important thing is to give him the ball. That’s what great players do. They make those plays, and he’s clearly a great player.”