Mavs Talk: Is Dallas ‘Unprepared’ Without Injured Luka Doncic?
On Wednesday night, the Dallas Mavericks fell 105-98 on the road to the Phoenix Suns.
It was a fourth-quarter rally that pushed the Suns to win their 10th-straight game (the longest streak for any team in the NBA this season).
The Mavs played without star Luka Doncic, and Kristaps Porzingis believes this hurt Dallas’s performance on the court.
“So,'' KP said, "I think we were a little bit unprepared for that maybe — us as players out there. I think maybe if Luka is out the next game, I think we’ll do a much better job at that.”
For Dallas, it was Tim Hardaway. Jr and Porzingis who led the way, finishing with 22 and 21 points respectively. And yes, Doncic is listed as "doubtful'' for Friday at Phoenix, so KP and company need to "do a much better job.''
Now let's hear the Mavs talk:
Porzingis on playing without Doncic:
“It was weird also playing without Luka. He’s normally orchestrating all the offense, and now we’re kind of out there looking at each other like what are we going to run?”
Jason Kidd on his team’s performance:
‘The guys played hard and gave ourselves a chance to win on the road against the (defending) Western Conference champs, who also had won nine in a row.
Kidd on what went wrong:
We just missed some shots down the stretch, and they didn’t. So, we’ll go look and see how we can do better for Friday.”
Kidd on Chris Paul’s 14-assist performance:
“You’re talking about a future Hall of Famer, one of the best,” Kidd said. “That’s what players like that (do).”
Hardaway on his team’s fight down the stretch:
“I’m just happy that we fought all the way to the end without Luka. We persevered through a lot of ups and downs throughout the entire game, but I’m happy we made sure that we kept our foot on the gas and everybody stayed aggressive.”
Jalen Brunson (18 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists) on communication:
“I think for us, the guys on the floor, we’ve got to communicate a little better. Down the stretch we’ve got to talk better on the defensive side of the ball. That’s just unacceptable by us.”
The Mavericks will have another chance to play the Suns in Phoenix on Friday. The game will air at 9:00 PM CST on ESPN.
