Luka Doncic Takes Blame For Mavericks Loss to Rockets

While his final stats look solid, Doncic's struggles to start the game were a big reason the Mavericks lost

Oct 24, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Through three quarters of Thursday night's loss to the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic had just 14 points on 6/17 shooting, a trend of slow starts that have surrounded him to start this season. He was electrifying in the fourth quarter, with 15 points on 6/8 shooting in the final frame, but it wasn't enough to overcome the significant hole the Mavs found themselves in as they fell 108-102.

Following the loss, Doncic shouldered the blame for the loss, saying he has to be better moving forward.

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“That’s on me," Doncic said in his postgame press conference. "I started pretty bad, so I’ll take the blame because I gotta do better than that. I know I can do it. I just have to focus and play my game.”

He wasn't the only reason the Mavericks fell to Houston in the American Airlines Center, but he was the catalyst. His frustrations with foul calls or missed layups bled over to the rest of the team, and he was noticeably upset when they couldn't close defensive possessions with a rebound.

The Rockets won in large part due to their effort on the offensive glass, grabbing 18 offensive boards, which led to 20 second-chance points. They were also the beneficiaries of some maddening fouls by the Mavs.

Slow starts have doomed the Mavericks early on, but they still have a 3-2 record through the first five games. If their offense can get off to better starts, they'll be able to beat just about anybody, but they're shooting below 40% in first quarters this season so far.

Doncic entered the season as the favorite to win MVP, especially given the momentum he and the team were carrying over from last year's trip to the NBA Finals, but Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has now overtaken Doncic a week into the season on FanDuel. There's still plenty of time for Doncic to correct himself and get back on track for MVP, but his start to the season has mostly been worrisome, outside of his performance at Phoenix.

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