DALLAS – Luka Doncic, who is among the most prolific scorers in the history of the Dallas Mavericks, could not have asked for a better appearance on Sunday night.
And he could not believe he had not managed it, staring at his temples with both hands and looking at the beams of the American Airlines Center after his wide-open three-pointer from the left wing with five seconds left to make a 121- 118 lost to the Portland Trail Blazers.
“It doesn’t matter if I’m confident. The shot went out,” Doncic said. He had 44 points on 14-of-20 shooting and nine assistants in the loss. “It was clear I was disappointed. I thought it was inside, and it went in and out, so I was disappointed. It’s on me. I should have made the shot.”
Doncic hasn’t been missing much lately. His 90 points over the weekend – he had a 46-year career in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday – are the most in a two-game series in franchise history. He shot 62% off the floor in the few games, including 5-out-8 from three points in both games.
The Trail Blazers did not want the Mavs to take a shot at possession at all, much less to make Doncic look good because Portland was planning to make a foul to send Dallas to the free throw line. However, Doncic was released after getting a screen from Kristaps Porzingis and getting an undisputed shot that would have leveled the score.
“If he had that shot nine more times, I think he would have taken it nine in a row,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “I mean, it was in and out. And that’s the guy we want to take. I thought it was a great look, so we’m disappointed.”
Dallas rose a dozen points behind in the fourth quarter and overtook the score by 49.5 seconds when Dorian Finney-Smith made a try of Doncic. But Portland superstar Damian Lillard gave the Blazers the lead with the next possession and added to his extensive collection of clutch brakes by swinging a setback 3 over Finney-Smith.
“He sat in his stance as if he had a good possession on defense,” said Lillard, who had 34 points and 11 shots. “This is what you expect from defenders in this league, but I noticed that they are not going to double, and I was like, ‘This is going to be a one-on-one.’ I got the chance I wanted. I got a clean look. In my mind I was like, ‘Okay, if this is what it’s going to be okay with me.’
Finney-Smith was left alone at Lillard at the top of the arc because Dallas did not execute the game plan. According to Carlisle, the Mavs’ coaches asked a double team to get the ball out of Lillard’s hands.
“The communication did not get there,” Carlisle said. “He hit a hard shot, but it’s a shot he makes regularly.”
No one in the NBA hits more shots in those situations than Lillard. According to ESPN Stats & Information, this is 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 clutch time, which is defined as the last five minutes of regulation or overtime if the score is within five points, and in those situations shoots 58% off the floor. He had seven of Portland’s nine touchdowns on Sunday.
“He’s been doing it for a long time,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said. ‘Many times it’s the most important thing to just get him the ball. This is what big players do. They make the plays and of course he is an excellent player. ‘