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Finals defeat can be springboard for Mavs: Doncic

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Agence France-Presse

<div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1718694781934NBA_DAL_Luka Doncic_AFP.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Luka Doncic (77) of the Dallas Mavericks shoots the ball against the Houston Rockets on January 4, 2021 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Cato Cataldo, NBAE via Getty Images/AFP/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Luka Doncic (77) of the Dallas Mavericks shoots the ball against the Houston Rockets on January 4, 2021 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. <em>Cato Cataldo, NBAE via Getty Images/AFP/File</em></span></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">LOS ANGELES -- Dallas star Luka Doncic was still absorbing the bitter blow of NBA Finals defeat, but one big lesson from the Mavericks 4-1 loss to the Boston Celtics was already clear.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;We&#x27;ve got to fight next season,&quot; the 25-year-old Slovenian said, adding that the example of the Celtics themselves --  back in the winner&#x27;s circle after falling in the finals in 2022 then missing out on the title series last year -- was one to note.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;They&#x27;re a great team,&quot; Doncic said. &quot;They have been together for a long time, and they had to go through everything, so we&#x27;ve just got to look at them, see how they play, (they have) maturity, and they have some great players.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;We can learn from that,&quot; Doncic said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/6/18/celtics-rout-mavericks-to-win-record-18th-nba-championship-1104"></a><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/6/18/celtics-rout-mavericks-to-win-record-18th-nba-championship-1104">READ: Celtics rout Mavericks to win record 18th NBA championship</a></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Doncic spearheaded an often sluggish Mavs offense throughout the series, despite playing with nagging knee and ankle injuries and a painful chest contusion.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;It doesn’t matter if I was hurt, how much was I hurt,&quot; said Doncic, who scored 28 points in Monday&#x27;s Game 5 defeat that saw Boston clinch a record 18th NBA title.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;I was out there. I tried to play, but I didn’t do enough.&quot;</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><strong>HIGHLIGHTS:</strong></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6kW6N2Ax9XA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Having extended the series with a Game 4 blowout, Dallas never led on Monday, trailing by double digits throughout the second half.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">But Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said just booking the title showdown with the 64-win Celtics -- a year after Dallas failed to make the playoffs -- was a harbinger of what this Mavs team can accomplish.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;This is just the beginning,&quot; Kidd said. &quot;A lot of people -- excluding the people in the locker room -- didn&#x27;t have us here.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;Yes, we lost 4-1, but I thought the group fought against the Celtics and just unfortunately just couldn&#x27;t make shots.&quot;</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">As the game ended, Doncic exchanged an embrace with teammate Kyrie Irving, an NBA champion alongside LeBron James with Cleveland in 2016 who was brought in to bolster the Mavs in February of 2023.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;We said we&#x27;ll fight together next season, and we&#x27;re just going to believe,&quot; Doncic said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The Mavs&#x27; postseason push was buoyed at the trade deadline by the acquisitions of P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford, and guard Josh Green said Dallas has the raw materials to challenge again.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;I think we got here and everyone is hungry now and obviously we didn&#x27;t get what we wanted. We need to regroup and be back here again next year,&quot; Green said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Added Irving: &quot;Failure at this stage definitely sucks. It&#x27;s a bitter feeling because you want to keep playing and you feel like your best game is coming up next.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;But I&#x27;m grateful for the opportunity to grow with these guys in this locker room, and everybody across the organization.&quot;</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></span></div>

<p>Dallas star Luka Doncic was still absorbing the bitter blow of NBA Finals defeat, but one big lesson from the Mavericks 4-1 loss to the Boston Celtics was already clear.</p>

Dallas star Luka Doncic was still absorbing the bitter blow of NBA Finals defeat, but one big lesson from the Mavericks 4-1 loss to the Boston Celtics was already clear.