Dallas Mavericks superstars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving took the blame on their shoulders for their team’s loss in the fourth game of the Western Conference finals against Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday. The Mavericks suffered a 105-100 loss as the Wolves were able to stay alive in the series and made it 3-1.
Doncic recorded his sixth triple-double of these playoffs with 28 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists but he had a poor shooting performance of 7-21 from the floor. The Slovenian reckons he didn’t give enough energy to the team.
“I think that game is on me,” Doncic said. “I just didn’t give enough energy.”
On the other hand, Kyrie Irving scored 16 points on 6-of-18 shooting with four turnovers and had his worst offensive performance of the series.
“He’s not alone in this,” Irving said. “I expect him to say something like that, especially knowing how much he cares and how much he wants to win and how much he wants to lead our group. So I expect nothing less. I think you heard me, too, just say that it’s on me. That’s what you’re supposed to hear from your leaders of your team.”
Mavs forward Derrick Jones Jr. said he won’t blame the talismanic duo but the whole team will take it upon them.
“It’s not on them, it’s on us as a team,” Mavs forward Derrick Jones Jr. said. “We are a unit. We go out there, and we play together, we win together, we lose together. It’s not on one person. I know that they’re the leaders of the team, that head of the snake, but we got their back through thick and through thin.”
Kyrie Irving gave credit to Timberwolves defender Jaden McDaniels for keeping him at bay throughout the contest.
“He has a huge impact,” Irving said. “I mean, he is a 6-9 wing defender that I’m seeing now for the first time from the start of the game. So it’s going to be an adjustment, but I love it. I relish in these type opportunities.”
“It’s a new space,” Irving said. “So now we just got to deal with this one, deal with this loss and get ready for Minnesota and enjoy that crowd there, man, because it’s going to be hostile.”
The fifth game of the series will be played on Thursday.
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