By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The origin story dates back to 2019, Luka Doncic and Terance Mann got into it on multiple occasions over the years.
Doncic, 23, the cornerstone of the Dallas Mavericks franchise naturally evolves to the top target of the opponents every single game. The Los Angeles Clippers and American swingman Terance Mann specifically present a different kind of challenge.
“I wouldn’t say we’re rivals,” Mann downplayed the situation talking to Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Bally Sports, “It’s all on-court stuff, fun and games. I think we’re out there making each other better. Just out there battling and getting under each other’s skin, and that’s part of the game.”
Nevertheless, Doncic and Mann have been consistent in keeping the beef going. Incidents in preseason contests failed to contain the heated battles in the Regular Season and Playoffs. The Clippers eliminating the Mavs in the first round of both the 2020 and 2021 Playoffs, apart from upping the total of games between the two sides, also added to the intrigue of the so-called rivalry.
“When a guy is chirping to me the whole game, the first thing I say back and the refs give a double technical,” mentioned the Slovenian star commenting on a matchup last season with the referees issuing a technical foul on both players, “I don’t think I deserve that. If he’s chirping the whole game, at some point I gotta say something. If somebody’s talking to you, I think you would say the same thing.”
Presumably, more to come in the 2022-23 season.
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