Luka Doncic recorded his eighth triple-double in the last ten games. But his shooting woes and a point total that was about half of what he normally produces proved a headline in Tuesday's 113-107 Dallas Mavericks victory at the San Antonio Spurs.
The Mavs superstar went only six of 27 from the field, including 2 of 12 from three-point range, in one of the worst offensive outings this season for the four-time All-Pro.
“We made it difficult on them all night, for sure. I think that Jeremy, though, was the main one guarding him tonight. He made it difficult on him from the start. He's been doing a great job defensively this year on all the match-ups that he's been getting,” Spurs guard Tre Jones said.
The Spurs put the clamps on Luka Doncic's shooting
Given Luka Doncic averages 34.4 points per game, the five-time All-Star often scores in a number of ways.
“I think the main thing is just discipline. Right away, you can be antsy or want to go for every fake or block a shot as bad as you want. He's a tough player. He has great moves,” Spurs guard Devin Vassell continued. “I think him just being patient with it, not going for every fake. Being smart is the main thing for sure.”
“We made all kinds of mistakes, but so did they and they want to win a championship,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of both his team and the Mavericks.
“Our goal is to get better every game individually and team-wise, and they did that. I'm really proud of what they did. So, that's the bottom line. Nothing else to it. They busted their ass and played to win. Can't ask for anything else,” the Hall of Fame coach added about both the effort on Doncic and against Dallas.
The Spurs used Jeremy Sochan as the primary defender on the 25-year-old star.
“Most nights, he gets the toughest one,” Jones said of Sochan. “He accepts the challenge and makes it tough on the opposing team's players. Making Luka go six for 27, that's a really good defensive performance by him.”
Jeremy Sochan continues to show defensive prowess
The 6-foot-8 second-year pro from Baylor is regarded as the Spurs' best perimeter defender.
“He takes pride in that. He's moving his feet way better, he's beating them to the spot, he's contesting, he's just being a pest. I mean, he was picking up full-court basically the whole game. That's what we need from him,” Vassell said.
Jones thinks Sochan's attention to detail has also contributed to his defensive consistency.
“Just watching more film, understanding the game, learning it more and more. Picking up on people's tendencies, how they play the game I think is something that he's doing really well as well. We see that you know, night in and night out with the way he's defending these players,” the former Duke Blue Devil said.
“I feel like that gets him really into the game when he's being a pest like that on defensive end and crashing the offensive glass,” Vassell continued. “When he's doing that, those are games where he's always going crazy, and he just brings that energy.
“Between him and Blake [Wesley], they're always competing on the defensive end, and we just need more, more from everybody else too,” Vassell continued.
On Tuesday, Sochan gave Doncic all he could handle.
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