By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Playing with a right knee sprain and left ankle soreness over most of the 2024 NBA Playoffs Presented by Google Pixel, Luka Doncic remained his usual self helping the Dallas Mavericks clinch a berth to the Finals of the Western Conference. Eliminating the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of a best-of-seven series of the Semifinals, he posted a triple-double on Saturday.
The Slovenian superstar logged 29 points with 9/15 from the field, including 4/6 from beyond the arc, to go with ten rebounds, ten assists, and two steals over 45 minutes in American Airlines Center. Putting up four points, five assists, and four rebounds in the fourth period, he pushed the Mavs to complete a rally from a 17-point deficit after starting the last quarter down by seven points.
Another key player in the fourth quarter was Kyrie Irving, who eventually improved to 14-0 in career closeout contests. “Being down 17 in a closeout game is not a position you want to be in, but that is where we found ourselves. We had to respond the way we have been responding all season,” he mentioned after ending up with 22 points.
The Mavericks reached the Western Conference Finals for the second time since Doncic moved his talents from Madrid to Dallas in 2018. In the 2022 Playoffs, they fell to the Golden State Warriors in five games. This season, they will face Serbian Nikola Jokic through the Denver Nuggets or French Rudy Gobert through the Minnesota Timberwolves. Game 1 will be on the road on Wednesday.
German Maxi Kleber (right shoulder AC separation) is the lone player on the injury list for the team coached by Jason Kidd but might be cleared for action during the next best-of-seven series. On the season-ending side of NBA Saturdays, French Ousmane Dieng stayed on the bench and Olivier Sarr (left Achilles surgery) remained sidelined.