The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday. Oklahoma City won 117-95, but Mavericks star Kyrie Irving remains confident in Dallas. Irving didn't waste any time after the loss. Shared a quick uplifting message On X (old Twitter).
“Tribes, please unite no matter what,” Irving wrote.
Luka Doncic was listed as having a possible right knee sprain before he was available for the game. He played throughout Tuesday's contest and was clearly dealing with pain. He also fell to the floor at a frightening moment during the game, which caused further pain for the Mavs star.
However, Doncic wasn't interested in talking about the injury after the loss.
“Who cares? We lost,” Doncic said. “We just have to move on to the next goal. I have to get better, we have to get better…we have to focus. They're a great team, great defense A team, a great offensive team. So it's never going to be easy. We have to play really good basketball and focused basketball for 48 minutes.”
Thunder beat Mavericks
Oklahoma City utilized an impressive defense to contain the Mavericks. Dallas shot just 39.3 percent from beyond the arc and 34.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Kyrie Irving led the Mavs with 20 points on 50 percent from the field and 75 percent from 3-point range. Doncic added 19 points, but his shot efficiency was incredibly low (more on that later).
Daniel Gafford performed well in the loss. He had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Gafford did his best on the defensive end of the floor, finishing with five blocks.
In the end, the Thunder showed enough performance on both sides to easily win.
Luka Doncic wasn't himself in Game 1
Doncic again scored 19 points. But it certainly wasn't an efficient performance for the Mavs' MVP finalist.
He went 6-19 (31.6 percent) from the field. Doncic has struggled with his 3-point shooting throughout the playoffs, and Tuesday night was no different. Luka made just 1 of 8 3-point attempts (12.5 percent) during the loss.
Still, he was able to finish the game with six rebounds and nine assists. But anyone who watched the game could tell that Doncic looked nothing like himself throughout the game.
He was obviously dealing with a lot of pain. The Mavericks will definitely continue to need Doncic. But if he continues to be frustrated offensively, Dallas will need Kyrie Irving to be more aggressive offensively.
Irving took just 14 shots from the field and just four 3-pointers. As mentioned earlier, he hit the bottom of the net on three of his long-range shots.
There's no question that Doncic is one of the best players in the NBA. In fact, some might even say he has an argument to be called the best player in the league right now. Others might rank him as a top-10 player or below. Either way, Luka Doncic is a superstar.
However, even the best players sometimes struggle with injuries. The Mavericks need Doncic to perform at a higher level, but fellow superstar Kyrie Irving will need to lead the way against the Thunder. .
