Luka Dončić fouled out of Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, leading to a disappointing exit for him. Following the loss, the Dallas Mavericks star apologized to his teammates.
“It wasn’t the smartest thing to do, especially in this situation, it’s the Finals,” Dončić said. “We got to give everything. We’re tired out there… It’s my bad, you can’t do that, especially in the NBA Finals. Regular season’s a little bit different, but you can’t really do that in the Finals.”
Luka Doncic admits he let Dallas down in Game 3, telling his teammates: “My bad, you can’t do that — especially in the NBA Finals.”
Our interview on fouling out for the first time in the playoffs, needing another pain killing shot for Game 4 and trying to make history down 0-3: pic.twitter.com/kRSjL93IHy
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) June 13, 2024
Luka Dončić scored 27 points, with six assists and six rebounds in the 106-99 loss to the Boston Celtics. He fouled out in the final minutes of the fourth quarter after playing 38 minutes.
He, a standout for Dallas in the NBA Finals, averaged 29.7 points, nine rebounds, and six assists in the series.
However, his late-game mistakes were costly in the 106-99 loss to the Boston Celtics. Dončić fouled out in the final minutes, with four of his fouls occurring in the last eight minutes.
His final foul came after the Celtics secured a defensive rebound, sidelining him for the last four minutes of the game.
Dončić remarked to The Athletic’s Joe Vardon that accumulating fouls so quickly had “never happened” to him before.
“We couldn’t play physical,” Dončić said. “I don’t want to say nothing. You know, six fouls in the NBA Finals, basically I’m like this (motions with palms out). C’mon, man. Better than that.”
With the Mavericks now facing a 3-0 deficit, they must shift their focus from Dončić’s fouls to avoiding a sweep.
Dallas rallied in the second half of Wednesday’s game, reducing a massive Celtics lead to just one point, but their comeback hopes faded after Dončić fouled out.
The Mavericks will need to make history by overcoming a 3-0 deficit to win their first title since 2011. This quest begins with Luka Dončić staying out of foul trouble.
