Surrealism stopped Luka Doncic. It almost seems like the only way to stop the strongest MVP candidate in the NBA, who is the clear and prominent leader of the Dallas Mavericks. A team that struggles to take the next step, but that also loses games against direct rivals. Like the one against the Denver Nuggets (97-98), in which the Slovenian did not shine, but he was able to win it.
Doncic collided with several surreal situations. The first occurred before the break. With the Mavs leading 56-52, Doncic hit a career-high triple at the buzzer. He was sending the game to halftime with seven up for the Texans. The teams retreated to locker rooms and the basket was reviewed, as is the case with all those limit plays. Surprise: Doncic stepped over the line. Not worth it.
And since there was time to play, surrealism arrived. After the restart, the clock was delayed a couple of seconds to repeat that final play. And from midfield Vlatko Cancar, another Slovenian, did the impossible. Triple from midfield scored. Craziness. And the Mavs lost a good income. “I watched several videos. It doesn’t look like I stepped on the line. My heel was up,” Doncic said.
Things of destiny, those six points that disappeared (three against Dallas and three in favor of Denver) will be essential in hindsight. Because the Nuggets entered with an advantage in the resolution of the game. Dallas moved up four (93-97, 45′) with two baskets under Powell’s basket. But Denver responded and a 3-pointer by Porter Jr. put them up one. Finney-Smith and Caldwell-Pope erred in their mission to seal the game… There was a decisive shot.
And Doncic emerged, with five seconds on the clock and the ball in his hands. He was fouled and had 3.7 left on the clock. I tried from the logo, but it fell short. His 22 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists were insufficient. And he did not forget what happened with that miraculous triple of Cancar, although he took away ‘iron’. “It is a gigantic change of ‘momentum’. However, you cannot say that it determined the party”, sentenced.
