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Luka Doncic made history in his first playoff game with 42 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds to set the NBA record for most points in his playoff debut.
But the aspiring Dallas Mavericks star could only sum up his performance in Game 1 against the LA Clippers in one word.
“Terrible,” Doncic said.
The Mavericks playmaker returned the ball 11 times, helping the Clippers take a 1-0 lead in this Western Conference first-round series with a 118-110 victory.
“I should never have had 11 turnovers,” Doncic said after the game. “That’s 11 more possessions, imagine that. I think a lot of this game, I have to do a lot better than that.”
Doncic added: “Eleven turnovers, never had so many. I just want to win. I’m really proud of this team, we fought, we fought until the end. We tried. I’m really proud.”
In addition to setting the NBA record for most points in his playoff debut, 21-year-old Doncic joined elite society on his big playoff debut. Only Magic Johnson and LeBron James recorded 40-5-5 in a playoff game at a younger age than Doncic, according to a study by the Elias Sports Bureau.
It was a nightmare start, however, for the Mavericks. They not only trailed 18-2 in the opening three and a half minutes, but they also had to hold their breath when Doncic pulled away from the pitch early. The leader returned after a brief outing to get his left ankle glued back.
But the Mavericks resumed, starting a 48-18 run at one point. Doncic gave coach Doc Rivers the Clippers’ vaunted defense problems, even though Kristaps Porzingis was sent off early in the third after committing his second technical foul.
Doncic scored 23 of his points and made 8 of 13 shots in the second half. He scored or assisted on 66 of the 82 points the Mavericks scored while on the ground, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
But that wasn’t enough to defeat Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Clippers duo scored 19 of their 56 combined points in the fourth quarter for the Clippers.
“He’s awesome,” Leonard said. “See what I mean? He’s very balanced. He has a lot of confidence in this team. He can get to his places, find his teammates, get them easy baskets. He does a lot of difficult baskets. is a great player. “
George was very impressed with the 21-year-old Maverick.
“The future,” George said of Doncic moments after the game in his ESPN on-field interview.
Although he had to face the likes of Patrick Beverley, Leonard, George and Marcus Morris, Doncic made 13 of 21 shots and buried 14 of 15 in the line.
“He’s a fighter,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “He is always going to fight. He will never be discouraged. He has a very positive attitude on the pitch with his teammates. He has played so many games in his young career that he has seen it all.”
Carlisle added, “Look, its utilization rate is so high it’s going to have a few more. [turnovers] than most players. Look, we’re putting a lot of it on him. “
Rivers said he doesn’t mind scoring Doncic as long as he doesn’t involve his teammates.
“He’s amazing,” Rivers said. “I thought we kept him pretty well, forced him to do a lot of tough shots, forced him to do 11 turnovers. I thought what we did wrong, which shows his greatness, was is every time we made a mistake on the weak side he found this guy and this guy did a shot.
“I didn’t mind his basket attacks. I didn’t pay attention to his 3. I care about our help so he can get the assists. I’ll give him the points – I don’t want it all. just not give up on points and assists. I think we allowed him to have both tonight. “
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