Luka Doncic says he needs to help Kyrie Irving more after Mavs loss

Eric Bledsoe

Tim MacMahon, ESPN Staff WriterApr 28, 2024, 10:30 PM ET

Close

Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas MavericksAppears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM

DALLAS — Kyrie Irving’s scoring brilliance allowed the Mavericks to rally from a 31-point deficit in Sunday’s Game 4, but Luka Doncic blamed himself for the Clippers escaping with a series-evening 116-111 victory.

Irving scored all 40 of his points after Los Angeles went up 31 midway through the second quarter, including an acrobatic layup over three Clippers defenders to give the Mavs the lead with 2:15 remaining.

But Doncic struggled by his MVP-candidate standards while dealing with soreness in his right knee that caused him to be listed as questionable before the game. He finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, but he shot poorly (10-of-24 from the floor, 1-of-8 from 3-point range) and was frequently exploited on the defensive end.

“I just got to help him more,” Doncic said of Irving. “I feel like I’m letting him down, so I got to be there. I got to help him more. He’s given everything that he has, and he’s been amazing for us the whole series.”

Irving is averaging 28.8 points while shooting 51.3% from the floor and
Read More