Mavericks Star Luka Dončić Shoulders Blame for Defensive Breakdown in Loss to Jazz

Dončić took responsibility for the late-game defensive breakdown on Thursday night.

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic shouldered blame for the late-game breakdown defensively in the loss to the Utah Jazz. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Utah Jazz, 115-113, on Thursday night to drop to 5-7 on the season. Just one year removed from reaching the NBA Finals, the Mavericks have looked like a shell of the team that came within striking distance of a championship.

Thursday night's loss was particularly frustrating for the Mavericks, as a late-game defensive breakdown between guard Quentin Grimes and star Luka Doncic led to an easy go-ahead basket for John Collins.

CLARKSON TO COLLINS FOR THE LEAD 🤯

Jazz up 2... 6.4 seconds left on NBA TV! pic.twitter.com/w04Ltwtk4E

— NBA (@NBA) November 15, 2024

NBA fans couldn't believe how asleep Doncic was at the switch. He shouldered the blame for the breakdown after the game.

"It was a misunderstanding," Doncic said. "I thought I was going to go hit, and Grimes thought he was going to go hit. And it was a lob, so we misunderstood the bench. That's on me,"

Luka takes blame for Mavs loss to Jazz 👀

"I was misunderstanding... that's on me" pic.twitter.com/74RoVHkm21

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 15, 2024

The Mavericks certainly need to do some soul searching in order to find the form they had a season ago.

---