Dallas, TX
Mavericks’ Luka Doncic Details NBA Finals Experience: ‘I’m Going to Learn from it’
DALLAS — Luka Doncic led the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals despite the team being a fifth seed in the Western Conference. They took down three teams that won at least 50 games to get to this point but face a commanding 3-0 series hole against the Boston Celtics.
Doncic is still hopeful the Mavericks can be the first time to overcome a 3-0 series deficit by leaning into the team’s ability to dig deep and pull off lengthy winning streaks in the past. No matter the odds, he emphasized the need to believe in their chances.
“Just like we did before. I always talk in the regular season, there was a time we were at our very low,” Doncic said. “I think we lost five, six in a row, and from there we just went up. I think we went 17-2 to get in the Playoffs.
“I know that’s the regular season, but it was the kind of point we all came together, and the chemistry from there went to the top,” Doncic explained. “We’ve just got to believe. We talk about it in the locker room. I know we can do it, and we’re going to believe until the end.”
As a team leader, Doncic shared his appreciation for the team’s personalities in the locker room while emphasizing the importance for him to help his teammates stay confident.
“Just keeping the team together. Like I said, we have great guys. We all know what we came here to do,” Doncic said. “Obviously, we’re going against the best team in the NBA, but we’re going to believe. It’s a first for us, but we’re going to believe, and that’s our motivation.”
A team tends to follow the guidance of its leader. With Doncic being one of those prominent personalities on the Mavericks, he’s received a significant amount of criticism during the NBA Finals for his interactions with referees, sometimes leading to 5-on-4 situations for the opponent. He admitted his passion for winning sometimes gets placed in those exchanges, but he could handle that better.
“I mean, yeah. At some point, yeah. I just really want to win,” Doncic said. “Sometimes I don’t show it the right way, but at the end of the day, I really want to win. I’ve got to do a better job showing it a different way.”
Ahead of Game 4, Doncic stressed the importance of having fun on the court and commended the team’s pace and defensive execution to nearly overcome a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter of Game 3.
“Go back to playing fun. We talk about how we come back from 20 points in the fourth quarter in the Finals,” Doncic said. “We were having fun. We were defending. We were running. Our pace was great. Just taking good shots.”
While it’s too early to focus on reflection, Doncic does see a significant benefit of going through his first NBA Finals and learning from it. “Oh, definitely, a lot of holes, I think, still. I’m 25. I’ve got a lot of things to learn. This is my first NBA Finals, so I’m going to learn from it, for sure,” he said. “But we’re not in the offseason yet. They’ve still got to win one more game. Like I said, we’re going to believe until the end.”
When relating this first experience to other great players, Doncic mentioned how great of an experience it can be. “Obviously, there’s the story of [Michael Jordan] against Detroit,” he said. “That was a big thing. I think he just learned from it. It’s a great experience. You’ve got to go through lows first to go on top. I think that’s great experience.”
If the Mavericks manage to win Game 4, they will have to try to extend their season on Monday in a Game 5 matchup at TD Garden.
Stick with MavericksGameday for more coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the NBA Finals.
Follow Grant Afseth on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.
Dallas, TX
2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule officially announced
Behold the 2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule.
We knew coming into Thursday that the Cowboys would be on the road to take on the New York Giants in the season opener on Sunday Night Football, that Dallas is “hosting” the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil in Week 3, and that the Philadelphia Eagles would be in town for Thanksgiving Day. Now we know it all.
Among the first things that jump to mind is that bye week is late. Dallas isn’t on bye until Week 14, the Sunday of that week is December 13th for full perspective.
The Cowboys also only play twice in their own building, thanks to the Brazil game, before November. Sometimes those weird quirks show up in schedules and this is certainly one of them.
It is interesting to see that the NFL gave Dallas the longest amount of rest possible after their Thanksgiving tilt. It hasn’t been uncommon for the league to have the Cowboys play on consecutive Thursdays, but perhaps that is a thing of the past.
Dallas, TX
Dallas Approves $180,500 for New Botham Jean Boulevard Street Signs
Flashit Photography
On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council approved funding that will replace highway exit signs and road signs marking Lamar Street with new signage honoring Botham Jean, the 26-year-old Dallas accountant who was fatally shot in his own apartment by an off-duty Dallas police officer in 2018.
The $180,500 in funding for 13 signs to be installed by the Texas Department of Transportation is the final step in the street renaming that was unanimously approved by the council in 2021. The new signs will be placed at exits along Interstate 45, State Highway 310 and U.S. Highway 175.
Already, Botham Jean Boulevard signs run along the road in the Cedars, where Jean lived before he was killed.
“This street on which he chose to live and the street on which he died can serve as a lasting memory of the upstanding resident who loved Dallas so much,” his mother, Allison Jean, told the council in 2021.
Jean was shot by Amber Guyger, a Dallas police officer, after she entered his apartment believing it was her own. A Dallas jury found Guyger guilty of murder in 2019 and sentenced her to 10 years in prison. She has also been ordered to pay the Jean family nearly $100 million in a civil trial, which accused her of using excessive force.
The Jean family is seeking restitution from the city of Dallas because they argue that Dallas, as Guyger’s former employer, had a duty to defend Guyger and pay out claims brought against her. The Jean family filed suit against the city in April of this year.
On Wednesday, city council member Adam Bazaldua stated that the continued remembrance of Jean’s name is a reminder that “no one is above the law.”
“This has never simply been about changing street signs; it has always been about commemorating a life that was taken too soon,” said Bazaldua. “When driving down Botham Jean Boulevard, we are reminded of the thousands of lives lost across the country each year to senseless gun violence.”
Bazaldua said that once city leaders were made aware that some signs from the initial 2021 street name change had not materialized, the horseshoe took steps to correct the oversight “somewhat promptly.” But he acknowledged that Wednesday’s funding came on the heels of community advocacy urging the project’s completion.
Community leader Yafeuh Balogun said his organization, Community Movement Builders, began asking the city for the updated signs in September 2025. Addressing the council ahead of Wednesday’s vote, Balogun encouraged the horseshoe to vote in favor of the funds because it “would make no sense” to not follow through with the street renaming approved years ago.
“I think this is very powerful simply because driving here today, I still saw the Lamar Street Signs,” Balogun said. “I remember how powerful it was back in 2021 when the city council voted to rename Lamar Street to Botham Jean. I’d like to keep that legacy going.”
Dallas, TX
World Cup volunteers receive uniforms, new tickets released
We’re less than a month out from the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and North Texans volunteering in the event have received their uniforms. FOX 4’s Peyton Yager has more on that and the new hospitality tickets released today.
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