Tag: Luka Doncic

NBA Twitter reacts to Mavericks beating Timberwolves in Game 2: ‘Bully Luka’

The Dallas Mavericks staged an impressive comeback to secure a thrilling 109-108 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals. Luka Doncic led the way for the Mavericks with a triple-double …

The Dallas Mavericks staged an impressive comeback to secure a thrilling 109-108 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals.

Luka Doncic led the way for the Mavericks with a triple-double tallying 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists, hitting the winning three-pointer over Rudy Gobert. Kyrie Irving chipped in with 20 points, while centers Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively combined for 30 points on 14-of-16 shooting.

Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns struggled with their shooting, while Naz Reid, who scored 23 points off the bench, missed the potential game-winning shot.

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the Mavs winning Game 2.

NBA Twitter reacts to Mavericks beating Timberwolves in Game 1: ‘Anthony Edwards played like a young Michael B. Jordan’

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the Mavs stealing Game 1 on the road.

The Dallas Mavericks won a close 108-105 battle against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined for 63 points, while Anthony Edwards struggled with his shot, shooting 6/16 from the field and finishing with 19 points.

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the Mavs stealing Game 1 on the road.

Charles Barkley roasted Kenny Smith’s NBA playoffs opinion as ‘one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard’

Charles Barkley absolutely roasted Kenny Smith here.

Charles Barkley wasn’t having fellow TNT analyst Kenny Smith’s position about the importance of the 2024 NBA Western conference finals.

Ahead of Wednesday night’s Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks game, Smith argued that the winner of that series would become the face of the NBA between Anthony Edwards and Luka Doncic.

To Smith, whichever team would come out of the Eastern Conference between the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers would get overshadowed by the star power of Edwards or Doncic, to the point where the loser would get more attention than the winner if the loser featured one of those players.

Barkley immediately chimed in after Smith by saying, “that was one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.”

Like, that’s absolutely brutal from Barkley.

On the same night he got blasted for his unfounded hot take about perceived pettiness toward Caitlin Clark, Barkley got in a roast of his own at his co-worker for his hot take about the importance of this NBA playoffs.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named to 2023-24 All-NBA First Team

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named to 2023-24 All-NBA First Team.

The NBA announced its All-NBA Teams on Wednesday and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named to the All-NBA First Team. The other members include Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

This was expected as Gilgeous-Alexander finished second in MVP voting this season. The 25-year-old has a career season where he headlined the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic were the only players to receive unanimous votes for the All-NBA First Team with 99 first-place votes, garnering 495 total points.

In 75 games, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 30.1 points on 53.5% shooting, 6.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds. He shot 35.3% shooting on 3.6 attempts. He led the league in steals at two per game.

This was the cherry on top for Gilgeous-Alexander’s ascension into one of the best players over the last two seasons. He’s had back-to-back top-five MVP finishes and two straight All-NBA First Team honors.

Considering he’s locked under his current deal with no opt-outs until 2027, it’s fair to say the Thunder will roster one of the best players in the league during their prime for the foreseeable future.

The three All-NBA teams can be read below:

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Lu Dort indifferent about Mavericks fans’ animosity toward him

Lu Dort indifferent about Mavericks fans’ animosity towards him.

As the Oklahoma City Thunder’s second-round series progressed, Lu Dort was pinpointed by Dallas Mavericks fans as their next villain.

Playing a physical brand of defense that involved Dort fighting over screens and staying tagged to Luka Doncic, the 25-year-old’s style can certainly rub opposing fans the wrong way.

Throughout the series, Dort was the target of loud boos each time he visited Dallas in their playoff series. When he was called for a foul, the Mavericks crowd loudly cheered.

For the first time in Dort’s career, he was mercilessly booed by the opposing crowd in a road playoff environment. After the Thunder’s season-ending loss, he talked about being a villain in a playoff series in his exit interview.

“At the end of the day, I just go out there and do my job and do what I have to do to help my teammate,” Dort said. “I don’t really talk when I play. I hope I’m not being seen as a really, really bad villain. My main thing is to go out there and make everything tough.”

Dort later admitted he was amused by the loud reaction from the Dallas crowd when a referee called him for a foul but also added he didn’t let it affect him.

“I was actually being surprised when I got a foul called and the whole crowd was cheering. That was a little weird,” Dort said. “I guess it’s a good thing because they want to see me out of the game. I don’t really pay attention to that.

“I’m still trying to play my game and stay aggressive. If the fans are happy when I get called a foul, it’s whatever.”

This is a pretty mature response by Dort. Many players who receive as much heat as he did throughout a playoff series would lean into the toxicity. It’d fit into their energy and provide an extra boost of confidence.

For Dort, he seems to ignore it and continues to play his style of defense. It worked wonderfully. He held Doncic to arguably the worst playoff series of his career yet with 24.7 points on 44.7% shooting.

Considering where the Thunder and Mavericks are, expect several more battles between the squads over the next few years. Both will enter next season as title contenders once more.

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Full injury report for Saturday’s Thunder vs. Mavericks Game 6 matchup

Full injury report for Saturday’s Thunder vs. Mavericks Game 6 matchup.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will face the Dallas Mavericks in Game 6 of the 2024 NBA playoffs second round on Saturday. Down 3-2 in the series, OKC looks to avoid elimination.

The Thunder enter the contest with another clean injury report. Everybody on OKC will be available.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks will be without Maxi Kleber (AC shoulder separation) and Olivier-Maxence Prosper (ankle sprain). Luka Doncic (knee sprain, ankle soreness) is probable.

The Thunder face elimination for the first time this season. A frustrating Game 5 loss put them in a 3-2 series deficit. OKC’s offensive woes continued. It only mustered 92 points and shot 25% from 3.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 30 points, but Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren combined for 25 points. Doncic had his best outing of the series with a 31-point triple-double.

Tipoff from Dallas is 7 p.m. CT.

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Luka Doncic owned up to his childish antics towards the refs after Mavericks’ big Game 5 win

Luka Doncic is finally showing some maturity.

When he’s dialed in and focused, Luka Doncic is one of the NBA’s brightest talents. He’s a veritable superstar who can take over a game by himself. But that’s the problem. We haven’t always seen that version of Doncic, especially as he incessantly complained about the officiating during the Dallas Mavericks’ second-round playoff battle with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Fortunately for the Mavericks, Doncic seemingly shelved his usual thought process during Wednesday night’s big Game 5 win on the road.

Well, at least for one evening.

In his postgame interview, Doncic acknowledged that he hadn’t been focused on the right things during the Mavericks’ first four games with the Thunder. But he promised himself he would play with more joy and clarity on the task at hand for Game 5. It paid off with tremendous dividends:

Doncic was positively masterful in helping the Mavericks get the 3-2 series edge. He dropped a 30-point triple-double while shooting an efficient 12-of-22 from the field (54 percent). Heck, he even blocked Shai Gilgeous-Alexander near the baseline!

If this is the kind of Doncic the Mavericks will get when he’s just focused on playing his normal game without any frills, they have to be ecstatic. We’ll see whether he keeps it up moving forward.

‘It gets me going’: Luka Doncic loves the Thunder’s hostile environment

‘It gets me going’: Luka Doncic loves the Thunder’s hostile environment.

In the final moments of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Game 5 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the rowdy crowd sang in unison a two-word chant: “Luka sucks!”

A physically intense back-and-forth second-round series has vilified Doncic for Thunder fans. His antics of complaining to officials as Lu Dort wore him down quickly wore thin for the OKC faithful.

In a pivotal Game 5, Doncic had his best game of the series. He totaled an efficient 31-point triple-double and hit deep 3-pointers in the second half to close the road win.

The 25-year-old has been chatty with Thunder fans. He discussed how the animosity strengthens his powers as one of the best players in the league.

“I love it. And when they chant, ‘Luka sucks,’ it gets me going,” Doncic said.

Regardless of the series winner, the Thunder’s rivalry against the Mavericks has officially started. This could be the first of more playoff series matchups between the squads down the road.

It’s evident Doncic has embraced the villain role in OKC as his best games of the series have happened inside Paycom Center.

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NBA Twitter reacts to Luka Doncic’s 30-point triple-double in Game 5 win: ‘Vintage Luka’

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to Luka Doncic leading the Mavs to a 3-2 series lead over the Thunder.

The Dallas Mavericks won a pivotal Game 5 in Oklahoma 104-92 to go up 3-2 on the OKC Thunder behind Luka Doncic’s 30-point triple-double.

Doncic put up 31 points, ten rebounds, and 11 assists, while also shooting 12/22 from the field.

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to his performance and the Mavs crucial win.

Full injury report for Wednesday’s Mavericks vs. Thunder Game 5 matchup

Full injury report for Wednesday’s Mavericks vs. Thunder Game 5 matchup.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will face the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA playoffs second round on Wednesday. OKC hopes to create a commanding 3-2 series lead.

The Thunder enters the contest with another clean injury report. Everybody on OKC will be available.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks will be without Maxi Kleber (AC shoulder separation) and Olivier-Maxence Prosper (ankle sprain). Luka Doncic (knee sprain, ankle soreness) is probable.

In the most exciting contest of the series yet, the Thunder mounted a 14-point comeback to tie the series at 2 in Game 4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 34 points on 14-of-27 shooting. OKC scored 35 points in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks struggled with their star duo. Doncic was held to 18 points on 20 shots and Kyrie Irving totaled nine points and nine assists.

Tipoff from Oklahoma City is 8:30 p.m. CT.

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