By losing Game 4 at home, the Dallas Mavericksmissed the perfect opportunity to punch their tickets to the NBA Finals and get almost ten days to rest before their next series.
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined for 44 points on 13-of-39 shooting, which is far below their usual production. That was the main takeaway following their five-point loss.
Doncic took the blame for the defeat, claiming that he didn’t come out to play with the energy his team needed. Nonetheless, his veteran co-star didn’t seem to agree with that assessment.
Kyrie Irving Defends Luka Doncic After Loss In Game 4
“I mean, he’s not alone in this,” Irving said. “I expect him to say something like that, especially knowing how much he cares and how much he wants to win. How much he wants to lead our group. So I expect nothing less. I think you heard me too, just say that it’s on me. That’s what you’re supposed to hear from the leaders of your team. We know that we didn’t play with the best energy; we didn’t create enough opportunities for us to get easy baskets. Just gotta take the hit on the chin, man. It’s not the first time we’ve been hit. Just competitive sports. It’s what makes it great.”
Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic
Irving also had a bit of a Mea Culpa for not pushing the pace and being more aggressive in the paint, adding that they needed to have a greater sense of urgency when they were down on the scoreboard:
“I think tonight some of those shots that KAT was hitting took the wind out of our sails,” Irving continued. “Anthony [Edwards] got down, got a few easy layups, few pull-ups. And then when we went down six, I just feel like we stopped pushing the ball a little bit. That starts with me. I just gotta continue to keep my pace up and get into the lane. Finish my shots that I have on Rudy (Gobert).”
The Mavs Were ‘Emotionally Fatigued’
Kyrie then explained that he felt like the team as a whole was a little worn out mentally and emotionally and claimed that they needed to brace themselves for Game 5 in a hostile environment:
“Those are things that I’m going to correct moving forward. But I just gotta stay aggressive. We just have to consistently do the little things,” added Irving. “Coming out tonight ,we felt like we were okay. You can tell it was an emotional fatigue. Everybody was pressured. Now we just gotta deal with this one, deal with this loss and get ready for Minnesota and enjoy that ride there man, because it’s going to be hostile.”
see also
Luka Doncic reveals why Kyrie Irving his perfect teammate
No team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit in the NBA playoffs, so the Timberwolves are facing an uphill battle. Then again, the Mavs can’t afford this series to extend any further, so they can’t rest on their laurels.
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