Dallas Mavericks: Luka Doncic blamed for defeat of Mavericks

DENVER – Luka Doncic was sitting on the floor in the corner of the visitors' locker room, both knees heavily wrapped in ice bags, the red beet of his left eye with a finger at the deadly defeat of 100 to 99 Denver Mavericks Thursday night at Pepsi Center.

But as soon as Doncic saw a small group of journalists heading towards him, he stood up and immediately accepted the blame for the defeat – no matter whether it was his spectacular driving dunk with 5.8 seconds to do that gave 99 seconds to Dallas 98 lead.

The problem was that Doncic, who had been fouled by the game, had missed the free throw. And when Denver's Nikola Jokic, after a break from the Nuggets, moved away from the right foot, Doncic's failed free kick proved to be the last margin of defeat for Dallas.

"I should have done the free throw," he said. "I have the impression of dropping my team.It's not what I'm supposed to be.It's not what I am.I just have the Feeling to let them down, I should have done the free throw. "

The Mavericks (27-41) have lost their seventh consecutive game and for the twelfth time in their last 13 games, but, given the circumstances, this night has been one of the best efforts of the season for Dallas.

Because of the snowstorm that pounded Denver and much of the Plains, the Mavericks could not get to this place until Thursday morning. They arrived at 8:50 am, Denver time, less than 12 hours before departure.

Still, Denver (45-22) needed to catch up 12 points in the last 11 minutes to win.

Doncic scored his fifth triple-double – he had 24 points and 11 rebounds – but he managed only 3 of his 7 free-throw attempts. That happened two nights after being 1-on-9 off the line in a seven-point home defeat against San Antonio.

Doncic admitted that Denver's one kilometer altitude had affected him in the fourth quarter.

"For me, I'm not going to lie," he says. "In the fourth quarter, I could hardly breathe, I would not lie … I was so, so tired … But you know, I think everyone a little bit [tired]; we just flew this morning. "

While there was 20 seconds left in the game, Gary Harris of Denver made a comeback with Denver in the lead 98-97. Denver had a foul to give, so Carlisle told Doncic to expect a foul with a few seconds to come, after which Dallas would call a timeout.

Recall that earlier this week against Houston, Carlisle chose not to call the timeout with Dallas late on 94-93. Doncic dribbled the field and was double-teamed 28 feet from the basket. He passed to Jalen Brunson, who missed the ring. Subsequently, Doncic said that he thought Dallas should have asked for a break.

Thursday night, however, with a timeout call plan, the opportunity never came up because Denver did not commit any fault. Doncic quickly took advantage by crossing the Nuggets defense for a dunk that left the Pepsi Center crowd well after.

"Rick told me that they had a fault to give, so they will inflict me a mistake and then we'll call the timeout," said Doncic. "But I guess it did not happen, that's why I just went."

Carlisle says, "They had a fault to give, so I chose not to use a delay, depending on whether and when they made the mistake, we would use the time out." But in this situation, I said it after Houston and I would say Again: I trust our guards They are good They are clever They are smart If they have an opening and play aggressively, then play.

"And he did it – it was a huge game and then a one-stop game."

Jokic's shooting could not have been much more difficult. As this season has passed for Dallas, the end was predictable.

"Everyone is talking about next year, you know, and we just need to build good habits," said Doncic. "I think we have a great group of guys, I really love playing with everyone, and we almost beat Denver, second in the West, at home, I'm really proud of my team."

Twitter: @townbrad