Tag: Luka Doncic

‘That’s Luka’: As postseason path narrows, Rockets seek better blueprint to defend Doncic, Mavs

“Because of his size and passing ability, he can kind of pick apart the gym,” Ime Udoka said of defending Luka Doncic. “We want to guard one-on-one.”

HOUSTON — With 11 straight wins, the Rockets entered Sunday as the NBA’s hottest team. With that streak in mind, an opponent likely needed to have phenomenal players to beat them.

Unfortunately for the Rockets, the Dallas Mavericks have two: Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. That dynamic duo took turns imposing their will and displaying their incredible shooting ability, ending Houston’s win streak with a 125-107 victory inside Toyota Center.

Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer who averages 34 points per game, came out on fire in the first quarter, which was probably to be expected after he hit an incredible shot off the scoreboard during warmups. His 22 points on 5-for-7 shooting from 3-point range helped the Mavericks take a 36-24 at the end of the first period.

“As our leader, he came out and set the tone offensively,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said postgame.

It didn’t matter if rookie Amen Thompson or second-year forward Jabari Smith was in front of Doncic; he hit everything he threw up, including an underhanded 21-foot shot that brought Dallas fans in attendance to their feet. Many local fans looked amazed.

“We have been lucky enough to be around him for three years,” Kidd said postgame of Doncic. “We have seen him kick the ball in. We have seen him shoot from half-court, full court, sitting in a chair. So to see him do that, I think a lot of people got excited.”

“But at the same time, we said, ‘That’s Luka.’” He is always able to make tough shots. He is Picasso. Give him the paintbrush; he’s going to do something special. That shot was pretty special.”

Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving echoed his head coach regarding Doncic’s style of play and how it opens the floor for his teammates. The rest of the Dallas players shot 50% from 3-point range, while Doncic shot 56% from beyond the arc.

“When he is that efficient and aggressive, it will open up a lot of opportunities for us,” said Irving, who finished with 24 points.

Rockets head coach Ime Udoka may be an art lover, but he would rather see masterpieces on canvas than from an opposing player. Udoka used a switching style on defense throughout the game, which led to Doncic scoring 47 points through three quarters.

“Because of his size and passing ability, he can kind of pick apart the gym,” Udoka said of the defensive strategy. “We want to guard one-on-one and force him into tougher shots. That was the objective.”

“But I think we were kind of back on our heels and made it a little bit too easy early,” Udoka said. “Just walk-up shots: I felt like he had 20 or more in the first quarter and didn’t really have to work for it. So, you want to take him inside of the 3-point line and make it a little bit harder. When he did, we didn’t show a lot of resistance.”

It remains to be seen whether Udoka will switch strategies when the Rockets (38-36) visit Dallas (45-29) next Sunday. With postseason hopes hanging by a thread, Houston’s margin for error is minimal.

Houston trails Golden State (40-34) by two games with eight to play for the final postseason spot in the Western Conference, and the Warriors own any tiebreaker, as well. Thus, the Rockets need to outplay Golden State by at least three games over this closing stretch, which makes the rematch in Dallas very important to Houston.

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Jalen Williams explains why he brings energy and interacts with fans, crowd

Jalen Williams explains why he brings energy and interacts with fans, crowd.

As Cason Wallace collected a missed 3-pointer, Jalen Williams found a lane and sprinted toward the basket for the vicious one-hand slam that served as the dagger on Thursday night.

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s 126-119 win over the Dallas Mavericks resembled a playoff atmosphere. A national TV audience gained a glimpse at the homecourt advantage fans usually produce for OKC.

“Definitely felt like a playoff atmosphere, our crowd’s been really good this year,” Williams said. “That was dope. It was definitely a competitive game. You can kinda feel the tension these last 15, 16 games. I think everybody’s trying to settle into a spot, so a lot of these games are gonna feel like that.

“That’s always good to have these reps before getting into the playoffs and it definitely felt like one of the most competitive games of this year.”

In his return from a one-game absence, Williams scored 27 points and had three blocks. His impact was felt immediately; he was the Thunder’s second-best player in their impressive win.

As he has all season, Williams embraced the crowd’s excitement, cheering them on after massive plays. The second-chance basket was one of the more animated reactions from him. When asked about his energy, he said he tries to make every game a memorable experience for fans.

”We have really good fans here and I like being here,” Williams said. “It’s always fun to just be able to interact. Sam Presti made a good point to us just talking about how you don’t know what people are going through to be able to get to the games and stuff like that.

“I think anytime you can kinda engage with the fans during the game, I think it kinda leaves everybody with a cool impression of the game. You don’t know whose first game it is or what the circumstances might be for people coming here, so anytime I can interact with fans, I think it’s really fun.”

This is a thoughtful mindset for Williams, who continues to be the Thunder’s lead energy guy. As OKC continues to ascend, there will be plenty of chances for the 22-year-old to create more moments like his game-sealing jam against the Mavericks.

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Full injury report for Thursday’s Mavericks vs. Thunder matchup

Full injury report for Thursday’s Mavericks vs. Thunder matchup.

The Oklahoma City Thunder finish a four-game homestand when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday for a national television game. It’ll be the penultimate matchup between the two squads; each has one win in the season series.

The Thunder (45-20) welcome back Jalen Williams from a one-game absence due to an ankle sprain.

Ousmane Dieng (G League assignment), Keyontae Johnson (G League two-way), Olivier Sarr (G League two-way) and Adam Flagler (G League two-way) are out.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks (38-28) will be without Luka Doncic (hamstring soreness), who suffered the injury late in their win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.

Brandon Williams (wrist sprain), Olivier-Maxence Prosper (G League assignment), Greg Brown III (G League two-way) and Alex Fudge (G League two-way) are also out.

In their last contest, the Thunder struggled to make up for Williams’ absence in their loss to the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers dictated the pace and scored 73 points inside of the paint against OKC.

Last time out, Dallas scored 146 points and blew out OKC with its new trade deadline acquisitions on Feb. 10.

Tip off from Oklahoma City is set for 9 p.m. CT.

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Bulls were ‘humiliated’ by Luka Doncic in loss to Mavericks

Luka Doncic “humiliated” the Chicago Bulls in their 127-92 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

It’s been a weird season for the Chicago Bulls. While an ugly start didn’t give fans much hope for a fruitful season, the Bulls are still firmly in the Play-In race, and they’ll almost assuredly be in the 9/10 game. They’ve been sneakily solid ever since their rough start, yet they still don’t have the talent to compete with the top teams around the league.

That last point was evidently clear on Monday night, as the Bulls suffered a blowout loss at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks. Former Bull Daniel Gafford and rookie big man Dereck Lively II played well, but it was ultimately the play of superstar guard Luka Doncic that caused Chicago’s demise.

The CHGO Sports YouTube channel discussed the game and how the Bulls were “humiliated” by Doncic in the 127-92 loss.

Doncic finished the game with 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 14 assists while shooting 9-of-23 from the field and 6-of-15 from beyond the three-point arc.

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Alex Caruso discusses challenge of guarding Luka Doncic

Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso talked about the challenge of guarding Luka Doncic.

One of the highlights of this Chicago Bulls’ season has been Alex Caruso. Last year, he made the All-Defensive First Team, and while his offense has taken a huge leap this season, his defense is still the primary way he affects the game. He’s constantly being challenged with guarding opposing teams’ best players for the Bulls, and Monday night was no different.

Caruso was tasked with guarding Luka Doncic on Monday. The Slovenian superstar is having an incredible season this year, and unfortunately for the Bulls, he took over the game. Alongside the play of Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II, the Mavericks took down the Bulls.

After the game, Caruso spoke about the challenge of guarding Doncic. (H/t Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune)

“He’s a unique player and can do a lot of things,” Caruso said. “He’s 6-7 and 200-whatever playing the point. He can play pick-and-roll, can play iso, he’s a three-level scorer. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He’s one of the best players in the league for a reason. It’s always fun to play against some of the best players every night. Went from guarding Steph to Kawhi Leonard on the road in back-to-back games, and to come off a week of guarding Zion (Williamson) and Giannis (Antetokounmpo). For me, every night is a new, interesting challenge, and Luka’s diversity just brings another one.”

Caruso finished the game with four points, five rebounds, and three assists on 1-of-6 shooting on all three-pointers.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander nominated for February’s Western Conference Player of the Month

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander nominated for February’s Western Conference Player of the Month.

For the third straight month, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was nominated for Western Conference Player of the Month. He won the award in December.

This shouldn’t be a shocker: Gilgeous-Alexander has played like an MVP candidate on one of the league’s best teams. The 25-year-old has led the Thunder to a 42-18 record, and they are in sole possession of first place in the Western Conference standings.

In 59 games, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.2 points on 54.8% shooting, 6.5 assists and 5.6 rebounds. He’s shot 38.2% from 3 on 3.4 attempts.

In 11 games in February, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 30.5 points on 55.9% shooting, seven assists and 5.3 rebounds. He shot 60.6% from 3 on three attempts. This included being an All-Star starter for the first time in his career.

Luka Doncic won the award for February. Other nominees included Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic and Domantas Sabonis. The East’s winner was Jayson Tatum.

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2024 NBA All-Star Weekend: The 5 best outfits from the festivities

Players came out to have fun and showcase their own unique style at the 73rd NBA All-Star Game.

The players came out to have fun and showcase their own unique style at the 73rd NBA All-Star Game. Athletes are starting to take advantage and recognize they can offer their fans more than just a one-dimensional version of themselves. They are so much more than athletes, with many of them taking an interest in fashion, charity and entrepreneurship.

All-Star games, game days and press events are all opportunities for fans and media alike to get to know these athletes on a deeper level. This year’s NBA All-Star Weekend did not disappoint, with players like Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat making a classic statement in his black suit with gold accents. And let’s not forget Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics in his hunter green jacket paired perfectly with his cream and rust knit sweater and classic black pants and boots and carrying a piece of Pyramide Bisten Damoflage hand luggage.

See the best looks from the 73rd NBA All-Star Game:

7 times Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic showed they were best friends at the NBA All-Star Game

Find someone who looks at you the way Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic look at each other.

Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic’s NBA All-Star experience should be studied and documented for future generations. If you’re going to be at the All-Star game, it’s better to do it with your best bud.

This article is not about me hyping up the NBA All-Star game. (After that bewildering and disappointing 200-point display on Sunday, the best moment was Stephen Curry vs. Sabrina Ionescu.) But, something I definitely want to shine a light on is the absolutely precious bond between Dallas Mavs star Luka Doncic and his brother from another mother, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.

There were multiple moments during All-Star Weekend when the pair was captured having the time of their lives hanging out with each other, and somebody needs to see it! (For goodness’ sake, if it isn’t horses, Jokic doesn’t get excited about much. This is huge.)

Here are the 7 moments you missed at the NBA All-Star game of Luka and Jokic being best friends:

Gregg Popovich has high praise for Mavericks stars after Spurs loss

After the San Antonio Spurs’ loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Gregg Popovich showed love to Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

A hot start wasn’t enough to earn a win for the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night, as they ended up losing to the Dallas Mavericks by a score of 116-93. Victor Wembanyama did his best to lead the way for the Spurs, but it just wasn’t enough to get past Dallas.

On the flip side, the Mavericks were led by two All-Star-caliber players – Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Doncic put up 34 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists, while Irving finished the game with 27 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. The two Mavericks stars combined to shoot 26-of-42 from the field.

After the game, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich gave Doncic and Irving some high praise. (H/t Jeremy Brener of Inside the Spurs)

“I thought Luka and Kyrie played like Hall of Fame players. They were fantastic,” Popovish said. “We couldn’t do anything with them, but I saw a lot of good things from the young guys that we can build on. You just got to keep shooting the shots and they don’t go in if you want to shoot them. It just makes it a tough night.”

Irving may very well already be a Hall-of-Famer, and Doncic is well on his way.

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Luka Dončić joined Joel Embiid by recreating the iconic Wilt Chamberlain photo after 73-point game

Luka Dončić is the latest NBA player to pay homage to Wilt Chamberlain after a record night.

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić became the latest NBA player to score an outrageous amount of points on Friday night when he dropped a career-high 73 in a victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

After the dominant performance, Dončić posed with a piece of paper with “73” written on it. It homages the iconic Wilt Chamberlain photo after his all-time 100-point performance, which Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid also recreated after his 70-point performance this past week.

Will this become a new trend once NBA players go off on the court with explosive performances? If so, we’re down for it, as it’s a really cool way to honor the past and repurpose it for the future.

Dončić is one of the best players in the NBA because he can achieve something as impressive as scoring 73 in a single game, and we’re betting he’ll find another way to reach this mark before his career is over.

Until then, we’ll have this awesome recreation and hope more NBA players follow suit with Dončić and Embiid.

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