Luka Doncic

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic was criticized for his offensive approach in Game 5 of the team's second-round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns, a 110-80 blowout loss.

Doncic finished Tuesday night's game with 28 points on 10-of-23 shooting with four turnovers and just two assists in 35 minutes. The road loss pushed the Mavs to the brink of elimination as they trail the Suns, 3-2.

The three-time All-Star dished out both of his assists in the first quarter. He didn't record another one over the final 36 minutes as Phoenix pulled away.

Doncic and backcourt running mate Jalen Brunson also combined to take 40 of the team's 71 field-goal attempts (56.3 percent).

In defense of the Dallas guards, their teammates weren't exactly lighting up the scoreboard when given the opportunity. The rest of the roster shot just 25.8 percent from the field (8 of 31).

It's somewhat of a catch-22, however, because an argument could be made it's hard to find a rhythm as a shooter without getting consistent touches at the offensive end.

Here's a look at some other reaction to Doncic's decisions running the offense in Game 5:

Doncic is usually a far more willing distributor. He averaged 8.7 assists during the regular season, which ranked fifth in the NBA, and tallied 35 dimes through the series' first four games.

Regardless of where the blame lies for the Game 5 clunker, the Mavericks will hope their offense bounces back in a major way as they try to forge a comeback to advance.

Game 6 is scheduled for Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. So far the home team has won every game in the series, and Dallas will attempt to keep that trend alive.

Chris Paul has made a career out of taking over games in crunch time, but that's pretty hard to do from the bench.

That's exactly where Paul was for most of the fourth quarter and extended stretches of Sunday's Game 4 in the Phoenix Suns' Western Conference Semifinal series against the Dallas Mavericks. The future Hall of Famer picked up four fouls in the first half alone and fouled out with approximately nine minutes remaining, which cleared the way for Dallas to clinch the 111-101 victory.

It was not lost on social media that Luka Doncic and other members of the Mavericks were using some of the same embellishment tactics that Paul has throughout his career, and the officials were also not immune to criticism:

The series is now tied at two games apiece, although it wasn't only because of the whistles.

Doncic stuffed the stat sheet with 26 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and four steals, while Dorian Finney-Smith provided critical secondary support with 24 points and eight boards behind 8-of-12 shooting from deep.

That Doncic received help from Finney-Smith, Jalen Brunson and even Davis Bertans was key because the Mavericks lost the first two games on the road when he averaged 40 points a night and then turned things around at home with the supporting cast playing at a higher level.

Whether that supporting cast continues to play well as the series shifts back to Phoenix for Tuesday's Game 5 could determine who advances to the Western Conference Finals.

Dallas Mavericks star point guard Luka Doncic was the target of the Phoenix Suns' offensive attack in the first two games of the Western Conference Semifinals.

After constantly getting scored on and enduring some ridicule from opposing players, Doncic responded in Friday's Game 3 with a hard-nosed performance to lead the Mavericks to a 103-94 win at American Airlines Center to cut the series deficit to 2-1. Doncic finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists and two steals.

Throughout the game, fans and analysts online were impressed with Doncic's toughness and how he bounced back from the first two games.

Dallas' supporting cast finally showed up to give Doncic some much needed help. Four other players scored in double figures, led by Jalen Brunson's game-high 28 points.

Doncic has never been questioned for his offensive prowess. He's definitely proved himself on that end with 106 combined points over the first three games of the series. 

But it's taken some time for Doncic's defense to catch up to his offensive brilliance. While he still has a ways to go to be a consistently reliable defender, he's made massive strides on that end of the floor this year after head coach Jason Kidd challenged him to improve. His defensive effort paid off on Friday.

The Mavericks still face an uphill battle against the top-seeded Suns, the favorites to win the NBA title. But if Doncic can continue to play with the attitude he showed on Friday, Dallas will have a better chance at spoiling Phoenix's coronation.

The Dallas Mavericks are searching for answers in the Western Conference semifinals against the Phoenix Suns after dropping their second straight game on Wednesday night with a 129-109 loss. 

Speaking to reporters after Game 2, Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said the players around Luka Doncic needed to step up their performance. 

"He had a great game, but no one else showed," Kidd said. "We've got to get other guys shooting the ball better. We can't win with just him out there scoring 30 a night—not at this time of the year. And we're playing the best team in the league, so we've got to get other guys going."

Doncic has been doing his best to give the Mavericks a chance in their first two games against the Suns. He dropped 35 points (13-of-22 shooting), seven assists and five rebounds in 36 minutes in Game 2. 

In Games 1 and 2 combined, Doncic has 80 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists. He's shooting 28-of-52 from the field, including 9-of-21 from three-point range.

Jalen Brunson has been the biggest disappointment for Dallas' non-Doncic players. The 25-year-old scored just nine points in Game 2 and is shooting 32.1 percent overall in the series thus far. 

After a strong start to the postseason, Brunson's performance has fallen off a cliff in five games since Doncic returned to the lineup. 

Brunson is hardly the only Mavs player struggling right now. Dorian Finney-Smith only attempted two shots in Wednesday's game. He tied a season-low with just two points. 

This isn't to say that Doncic should be absolved of blame for how the Mavericks are playing. He has 12 turnovers through the first two games. The Suns averaged 1.72 points per possession on 50 attempts with Doncic as the primary defender in Game 2. 

But Doncic's offensive output is so completely overwhelming everything the rest of his teammates are doing that someone needs to start making shots consistently to ease some of the burden on him. 

Perhaps returning to American Airlines Center will make the Mavs feel more comfortable. They will host the Suns in Game 3 looking for their first win in the series on Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET.      

The Dallas Mavericks have listed point guard Luka Doncic as questionable for Game 3 of their first-round playoff series with a strained left calf.

Doncic, who suffered the injury in the Mavs' April 10 regular-season finale against the San Antonio Spurs, has missed the first two games of the Dallas-Utah series.

Per ESPN's Tim MacMahon, the Mavs listed Doncic as doubtful for those matchups.

Game 3 is scheduled for Thursday at 9 p.m. ET from Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Mavs and Jazz split the first two games in Dallas. A low-scoring Game 1 went in Utah's favor as the Jazz outlasted the Mavs 99-93 behind 30 second-half points from Donovan Mitchell.

It was a far different story in Game 2 as Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson went off for a career-high 41 points in a 110-104 win.

Utah was favored in both games with the Mavs missing Doncic, who averaged 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.7 assists this past season. He's a three-time All-Star and could be in line for his third All-NBA first-team nod this year.

Simply put, the Jazz didn't take advantage of their opportunity, and now Doncic could be in line for a return. A good sign emerged Wednesday as Doncic was seen getting some shots up on the move, per MacMahon and Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News:

Doncic spoke with reporters about the injury Wednesday and what might be ahead for him:

If he can't go for Game 3, then his next chance to get back will be Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET for Game 4.

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic isn't expected to play in Game 1 of the NBA playoffs.

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Doncic's calf strain will keep him out for Saturday's opener against the Utah Jazz, and "significant concern remains" about his availability for Game 2 on Monday. 

The Mavericks announced April 12 their best player had been diagnosed with a left calf strain ahead of the first-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz. While the team said there was no timetable for when he would return, head coach Jason Kidd initially remained evasive when discussing his Game 1 status. 

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported two days later the three-time All-Star was expected to be out, which wasn't surprising news given the circumstances.

Doncic is coming off another monster regular season. He averaged 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.7 assists and shot a career-high 35.3 percent from beyond the arc.

As the Mavs look to improve on their first-round exit in last year's postseason, nobody will be more important than the Slovenian. He led the NBA in usage rate (37.4 percent) for the second season running, per Basketball Reference.

The 23-year-old also thrives on the big stage. He averaged 33.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 9.5 assists through his first 13 playoff games.

With a healthy Doncic, Dallas is still a bit of an outsider for the title. If he's playing hurt or out altogether, the team is in serious trouble.

The Mavericks will host Utah in Game 1 of the Western Conference playoffs Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. 

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is expected to miss Game 1 of the Mavs' first-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz on Saturday afternoon with a strained calf, per Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic.

The 23-year-old has been a leader for the Mavericks all season. He averaged 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.7 assists while shooting 45.7 percent from the floor and 35.3 percent from deep during the regular season. His performance earned him an All-Star selection for the third straight season.

The Mavericks' offense runs through Doncic, and the team invariably suffers when he is missing. Dallas went 8-9 in his absence during the regular season and had to rely on Jalen Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith. 

Brunson had a career year, but he's not nearly as productive as Doncic, averaging 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists during the regular season. 

In addition to Brunson and Finney-Smith, the Mavericks also turn to Spencer Dinwiddie, who was acquired from the Washington Wizards at the trade deadline.

If Dallas wants to make a deep postseason run in a difficult Western Conference that includes the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies, it will need Doncic to remain healthy moving forward. 

The calf injury to star Luka Doncic is creating "a lot of concern" about his availability within the Dallas Mavericks organization, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski reported the left calf strain is "a little bit more than a mild strain." Doncic is facing a race against the clock with the Mavs scheduled to open their first-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz on Saturday 1 p.m. ET.

The Mavericks didn't put a timetable on Doncic's return when they announced the severity of the injury Tuesday, and head coach Jason Kidd didn't provide any clarity when addressing the situation with reporters.

Doncic's importance to Dallas goes without saying.

The 23-year-old led the team in the three major categories, averaging 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.7 assists. He also led the NBA in usage rate (37.4 percent) for the second season running, per Basketball Reference. That is the eighth-highest usage rate over a single season in NBA history.

Spencer Dinwiddie has far exceeded expectations since joining the Mavs in the Kristaps Porzingis trade. He averaged 15.8 points and shot 40.4 percent from beyond the arc in 23 regular-season games.

Looking ahead to the postseason, Dinwiddie can help ease the scoring and playmaking burden on Doncic.

Still, the Mavericks are likely to go as far as their best player can take them. The three-time All-Star has risen to the occasion in the playoffs, averaging 33.5 points, 8.8 boards and 9.5 assists through 13 career contests.

Dallas is bound to struggle in a big way if Doncic is less than 100 percent against Utah, and the team might be toast if his calf injury forces him to miss a single game.

Sacramento Kings chairman Vivek Ranadive was reportedly one of the "driving forces" behind drafting Marvin Bagley III with No. 2 overall pick in 2018 ahead of Luka Doncic, a former member of the team's basketball operations staff told Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee.

The source credited Ranadive and assistant general manager Brandon Williams in leading the charge for Bagley. They felt the former Duke star was a "modern-day big who could run the floor with De'Aaron Fox."

Bagley never reached expectations and was traded to the Detroit Pistons in February, while Doncic already has three All-Star selections.

Through four seasons, Doncic has a value over replacement player of 19.7 points per 100 possessions, while Bagley is at negative-0.1, per Basketball Reference.

The one decision is a major reason the Kings have continued to struggle as a franchise, missing the playoffs for the 16th season in a row in 2021-22. 

There has been plenty of change in personnel, both on and off the court in this time, but the former staffer explained that Ranadive is the common link as someone who is "too involved."

Even when Vlade Divac served as general manager from 2015-20, he was reportedly often overruled by Ranadive, while different people in the front office held more power at different times, including special advisor Joe Dumars and assistant general managers Ken Catanella, Scott Perry and Brandon Williams.

Divac previously took the blame for drafting Bagley, but it now seems Ranadive and Williams had a bigger say.