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.