Luka Doncic reacts to his last possession in a loss against Pelicans / News - Basketnews.com

Luka Doncic reacted to his last-second shot against the New Orleans Pelicans, admitting that he should have taken a better shot.

Credit: AFP-Scanpix Credit AFP-Scanpix

Luka Doncic missed the second possible game-winner in three games, resulting in the Dallas Mavericks losing 111-113 against the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Slovenian superstar finished the game with 37 points (14/17 2PT, 2/13 3PT, 3/5 FT), 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, and 3 turnovers.

Despite the solid performance, Doncic took the responsibility, saying tonight's shot was similar to the one against the Phoenix Suns.

"Two hard shots," Doncic said after the game. "Two or three seconds. So, I probably should get a better shot than that."

Asked if it should have come down to that with New Orleans missing three starters (Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones) who combined for more than 50 points and 15 rebounds on average in the Pelicans' first three games, Doncic said:

"It's basketball. They're NBA players. They have a great team and were moving the ball. So it can happen."

Doncic also hinted that the Mavericks might have underestimated the opponent.

"Bad defense," said Doncic. "First quarter was bad defense. We started relaxed."

Meanwhile, head coach Jason Kidd defended his star, saying he trusts Doncic's decisions.

"We knew the double team was coming, and we just didn't execute," he said. "Luka had to take a tough shot. A lot of times, you look for him to bail you out. We just didn't execute. We have to do better."

Prior to that, Doncic went for a layup with 4.0 seconds remaining and the Mavericks trailing 109-112.

"We could have called timeout, but Luka has the ball, and I trust the next thing he's going to do," Kidd said. "For him to take the layup is smart because now it becomes a free-throw game, and we get the ball to tie or to win.

"And that's what happened. I think everyone thought he was going to pull up for a 3, but I thought he took the right play to get the two points," Kidd concluded.

So far, Doncic is averaging 34.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game.

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