Mavs' Luka Doncic Calls Bank Shot Against Nets 'Most Difficult' of NBA Career
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks came away from their home opener with a 125-120 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. Luka Doncic recorded 49 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, while setting a new single-game career-high in made 3s by going 9-14 from beyond the arc.
The play that stole the show and ensured a victory was a one-handed, fading bank shot to beat the shot block from Doncic, giving the Mavs' a 123-120 lead with just 26.1 seconds left in regulation. Dallas got a defensive stop the next possession then closed the game out with a pair of made free throws from Josh Green.
“I don’t know. I saw there were two or three seconds left [on the shot clock] and just knew I had to put it up and touch the rim so that we would have a chance of reloading [the clock],” Doncic said.
Doncic's former teammate, Dorian Finney-Smith, jokingly said that Doncic didn't call glass on the shot.
"Hell nah, he ain't call no glass," Finney-Smith said, via ESPN. "He better not say he called glass, either."
Doncic was told about Finney-Smith's comment, he joked that he called glass in Slovenian so he wouldn't understand: "I said it in Slovenian, so he wouldn't understand."
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It's common for Doncic to throw up trick shots and pull off what would seem impossible to most. Finney-Smith, who played in 311 combined games between the regular season and playoffs as Doncic's teammate, has seen it "a million times."
"I've seen it a million times," Finney-Smith said, via ESPN. "He plays around, and he honestly works on those shots. You can't really fault him. I feel like we should have not let him get the ball back. That probably would have been the best option. S---, he couldn't even see the rim and he made that mug."
Doncic told reporters the shot felt good when he released it, making it actually his expectation that it would go in.
“Yes, actually," Doncic said. "It was feeling good. I promise.”
When comparing to the rest of his improbable tough shots in his career, Doncic felt this was the most challenging of all. With it being more of a hook shot as opposed to a jumper, he felt it takes the crown as his most challenging make.
“It was probably this one," Doncic said. "I don’t know what I did. Against Portland is a consideration, but I think this one was tougher. I think it was a little bit of a hook shot.”
Mavs coach Jason Kidd admitted he attempted to call a timeout before Doncic got the shot off, potentially ending a miraculous play he called "a Luka special."
“I'm just glad I didn't call a timeout when I wanted to. We probably wouldn't be sitting here," Kidd said. "That's a Luka [Doncic] special. He likes the ball late, he loves those situations and he finds a way. The thing about Luka, he practices a lot of crazy shots. Sometimes they get caught on camera.
"Sometimes it's just the human eye that catches them. Tonight was one of those shots. He put us in a position to get there. [Forty-nine] points. He played well. What else can you say about it? I don't know what to say. He's special.”
The Mavs return to action on Monday when they take on the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum. Dallas is off to its first 2-0 start since 2019-20, with Doncic averaging 41.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 8.5 assists.
