Gregg Popovich’s Hilarious Reaction to Dallas Mavs' Luka Doncic: 'Average' Performance!
In this story:
DALLAS — Luka Doncic led the Dallas Mavericks to a 126-119 victory over the San Antonio Spurs to open the regular season. The four-time All-NBA First-Team guard totaled 33 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, and two steals in 34 minutes, with plenty of big plays down the stretch to seal a win.
When a great player gets on a roll doing what they do best, there isn't much the opposition can do to contain it. Especially when a team like the Mavs has two superstar plays like Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Both players stepped up in pivotal moments in order to sustain momentum in Dallas' favor.
“That was average. What the hell, that was a Hall of Fame performance like he gives almost every night," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Kyrie [Irving] wasn’t bad either. The two future Hall of Famers got us. They took over the game, but that doesn’t really bother me that much."
Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic talking with an official.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
The Spurs made an admirable effort, scoring 43 points in the first quarter and leading by 12 in the first half. However, the Mavs' experienced superstars were instrumental in setting the tone, while San Antonio felt turnovers proved to be too costly as the team is focused on establishing continuity.
"The 12 turnovers in the second half where we lost composure offensively, unforced turnovers, quick decisions, quick shots where we didn’t really make them guard," Popovich said. "That is a tough combination. When they are scoring at the other end, we are going to have to score.
"Those turnovers and those kinds of dry possessions, I call them, really hurt us. But we hung in there the whole night," Popovich explained. We were really there. I was really proud of their effort. They are going to make mistakes that hopefully, as the year goes along, they take care of. You could see Dallas’s execution and experience in the last five minutes.”
One of the Mavs' focuses early this season has been to improve execution in clutch situations. With two of the NBA's top closers, the pairing had a strong performance against the Spurs, showing the type of impact rival teams expect to see.
“They know what play we are running, but the execution needs to be better. We cut it short lots of times, quick shots, just not moving the basketball," Popovich said. "We are not going to have a Kyrie or a Luka who’s just going to give them the ball [and] they are going to do what they do. We are not that team, so we got to do it as a group and move the ball, and take advantage of some things, and for the most part, they did a real great job of it. Just not down the stretch.”
The Mavs return to action on Friday when they take on the Brooklyn Nets at American Airlines Center.
