Luka Doncic after elimination in NBA playoffs: 'I played terribly' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: USA TODAY Sports-Scanpix Credit USA TODAY Sports-Scanpix

Luka Doncic and his Dallas Mavericks finished the post-season appearance, which was the franchise's longest run in the playoffs since winning the NBA title in 2011.

Player of the Game EFF 28 Kevon Looney Points 10 Accuracy 5-8 Rebounds 18 Assists 4

Even though Hall of Famer Charles Barkley roasted Doncic's performance at halftime, as Mavs were down by 17, the Slovenian star bounced back with 22 of his 28 points in the second half, adding 9 rebounds and 6 assists to his performance.

"I gotta say I'm very disappointed in Luka," said Barkley. "He's not playing with any energy, going through the motions, not getting back on defense. He's not competing."

"I'm a big Luka Doncic fan, but he's not competing out there at all tonight. He came out lackadaisical just jacking up threes, and his energy and activity level are at the bottom," Barkley went on and criticized Doncic after two quarters in the decisive Game 5.

In the post-game conference, the 23-year-old admitted that he did not have the best day when it mattered the most.

"I don't like losing, especially like this. I played terribly," Doncic was straightforward.

"If we are talking about the whole season, I'm really proud of this team: everybody, every player, every staff member. I promise that we fought till the end. Congratulations to the Warriors, they were obviously a better team," he added.

While talking about his summer plans, Doncic said that he will be focused on improvement on the defensive end.

"Defense has to be way better for me. Honestly, I made a huge step defensively, but there is so much room for improvement. I think that's a spot that can take us to the next level.

In the off-season, I don't think I will have a lot of time to think about the NBA. I just saw my schedule, it's not gonna a lot of off time. We have to learn how to be a championship team like the Warriors, who were amazing every night.

Basically, I did not stop playing basketball since the start of last season's NBA, so probably I am going to take one week off from basketball and then go back to it," Doncic expanded on his near-future plans.

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