Luka Doncic On Winning His First Playoff Series: ‘I Think We Deserve to Get Past the First Round’
The celebration began after Bojan Bogdanovic missed a potential game-winner. The Mavs were up two points with 4.3 seconds remaining in a closeout Game 6 when Bogey’s put up his prayer after pump-faking Spencer Dinwiddie out of his way for a wide-open three-pointer from the left-wing.
The moment seemed to hang in the air, but Bogey’s shot was short, Donovan Mitchell nearly fell to his knees in disbelief as Luka Doncic, and the Mavs celebrated getting to round two.
“Oh, man, I thought, ‘He don’t miss a lot of those,'” Doncic said, per ESPN. “My heart stopped.”
For the first time since 2011, the Mavericks have won a playoff series. The 98-96 closeout win also represented Doncic’s first playoff series win and will be the first time he’s moved past the first round in his bright career.
All love.
— x – Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) April 29, 2022
Great series, @utahjazz. pic.twitter.com/k3iwgdWhO3
Doncic finished Game 6 with 24 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists in 42 minutes, playing the entire second half as the Mavs rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit. The triumphant comeback came after the Mavs torched Utah’s defense with 14 second-half triples, the most in one half in Dallas playoff history.
“Happiness, man,” Doncic said. “I think we worked really hard to get here. I think we deserve to get past the first round. Everybody fought their ass off today. We didn’t play good today, but everybody was staying together. Keeping everybody together was the key to win this game.”
MAGIC 🪄🪄🪄 pic.twitter.com/w2eU4CA4sl
— x – Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) April 29, 2022
The third quarter proved vital as the Mavs outscored the Jazz 36-19 and knocked down 8-12 three-pointers. Ten out of the Mavs’ 13 bucks were assisted, primarily thanks to the decisive decision-making of Doncic out of traps and double-teams. Doncic had one dime but scored 10 points, including two step-back threes in the monumental third frame.
“I like sharing the ball,” Doncic said. “If they’re going to [double-team], somebody is going to be open. We’ve been playing against blitzes or hits the whole season, and I think we did great. Then it’s just basketball, four-on-three.”
Game 1 of the Suns-Mavs second-round series will start on Monday.
