Luka Doncic feels like he’s ‘letting down’ teammate Kyrie Irving after recent struggles

Luka Doncic has shot 23 more times than his teammate Kyrie Irving during this best-of-seven series against the Clippers, but the Slovenian has only dropped in one more point than him. The 25-year-old is well aware he hasn’t been at his best when his squad is needing him the most, and even acknowledged that he feels he’s letting his c0-star down. 

Last time around, Kyrie led the comeback as the Mavericks rallied back from a 31-point deficit on Sunday, but then let their victory escape 116 to 111. That evening in Game 4, the European blamed himself for not being able to preserve his squad’s triumph late in the match.

After the L.A. club went up 31 points midway through the second quarter, Irving scored all of his 40 points. With 2:15 remaining in the game, he produced an acrobatic layup against three Clippers defenders to give his team the lead.

What do you expect from Luka Doncic in Game 5? pic.twitter.com/XVbLAq5KYf

— Locked On Mavs (@LockedOnMavs) April 29, 2024

The truth is, Luka has been struggling mostly due to the soreness he’s been enduring in his right knee, which caused him to be listed as questionable before the contest. Eventually, he ended Sunday’s clash with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, but simply wasn’t efficient with his shots, hitting only 1-of-8 from beyond the arc.

“I just got to help him more,” Doncic said of his co-star. “I feel like I’m letting him down, so I got to be there. I got to help him more. He’s given everything that he has, and he’s been amazing for us the whole series.”

Throughout this first-round series, Kyrie has been averaging 28.8 points while shooting 51.3% from the floor and 48.5% from the deep, while the Slovenian superstar is 29 points, but with 38.6% from the floor and 26.5% from the three-point mark.

Doncic admitted that he’s dealing with stiffness since Game 3, but doesn’t want to excuse himself. “It’s hurting obviously, but it shouldn’t be an excuse, man,” he said after playing 45 minutes this Sunday. “Just came out and a little sloppy, so I got to be way better than that.”

“I thought he did everything he could,” shared his coach Jason Kidd. “You [would have] to ask him how his health, but I thought he competed on both ends.”

The Dallas guard especially struggled to guard James Harden, who excelled shooting from beyond the arc in Game 4

Part of Doncic’s frustration came after James Harden gave him a hard time, as the Slovenian was tasked with guarded him and hopefully preventing his constant threat from the deep. “The game plan was living with his floaters, so I was just trying not to give him 3s,” he said. “But obviously it wasn’t good, especially me.”

Even though The Beard shot only 28% of his floaters during regular season, he was especially inspired this weekend. The former league MVP was 5-of-6 from beyond the arc on Sunday, all of them dropped in during the final five minutes.

Coach Kidd assured that he made it a priority to chase both Harden and Paul George off the three-point mark, but the Clippers duo eventually combined for 44 points in the first half, and 10-of-13 from three-point range.

“Living with 2s in this league doesn’t hurt you, but 3s kill you,” he said. “When Harden is taking 2s, that’s better than his stepback or him shooting a 3, just understanding what they were shooting from 3 in that first half. So you got to give up something. They’re talented.