DALLAS — Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic was exhausted, emotionally spent, extremely proud and quite perturbed as he exited the American Airlines Center court after a sensational, wild outing Saturday night.
One night after becoming a father for the first time, Doncic helped a short-handed Dallas squad rally from a 24-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take the lead, but the Mavericks failed to finish off the win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Dallas’ 30-0 run — the biggest in the NBA since at least 1997-98, according to the Elias Sports Bureau — and Doncic’s 36-point, 15-rebound, 18-assist performance weren’t enough for the Mavericks to avoid a 126-120 loss to the Thunder.
Doncic took accountability for letting his frustration impact his focus in the final minute. Coming out of a timeout following Williams’ bucket, Doncic had an inbounds pass intercepted by Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who converted the turnover into a transition layup.
“That can’t happen,” Doncic said. “That probably lost us the game. The focus should be there, but I was a little bit exhausted.”
It was a disappointing end to a spectacular effort by Doncic, especially considering the circumstances. He said he got about four or five hours of sleep Friday night — by far his most in a few days — and doubted early in the first quarter whether he could handle his normal workload.
He joined Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to have multiple games with at least 35 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists, according to ESPN Stats & Information.