The Dallas Mavericks are on the verge of winning the West, meaning Luka Doncic is nearing his first-ever finals appearance. The Slovenian superstar has been putting up stellar numbers in the playoffs — a main reason why the Mavericks are in their current position. Ahead of the team's Game 5 clash against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett spoke about the series, and Pierce couldn't help but praise Dallas' franchise player.
“Luka scares the living hell out of me,” Pierce said. “That game…this is when we saw him live. Remember when we saw him live at your (Garnett's) retirement? That's my first time seeing him live.”
“The way he controls a game…when you actually see it live…it was like, God damn! He's got that — in a quiet way — that Jordan, Kobe type of kill mentality.” (per ClutchPoints via All The Smoke Productions)
Pierce also added that he wouldn't bet against Luka, and said if he would take a player to have an “all-time game,” it would be Doncic.
Luka Doncic has been unstoppable
To be fair, Doncic may already have an all-time game. Against the Atlanta Hawks this past January, the 25-year-old scored a career-high 73 points. He was 25-for-33 (75.8%) from the floor, shooting eight threes while adding 10 rebounds and seven assists to his name.
And going back to Pierce's mention of Garnett's jersey retirement, the Mavericks played the Boston Celtics that night, in the TD Garden, back in March of 2022. Dallas came away with a road win, as Doncic tallied 26 points, eight assists and eight rebounds to leave a sour note on KG's big night.
And right now, there's no stopping the Mavericks star. In four games against the Timberwolves in the WCF, Doncic is averaging 31.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game. What's even more impressive is how Doncic manages to put up these numbers despite the amount of blitzes he receives. In 1-on-1 situations, it's a sure basket. No matter who the Timberwolves put on Doncic, it didn't matter, and it likely won't again in the upcoming game.
Game 5 awaits
While the Mavericks lead the series three games to one, they can't get complacent. The team had the chance to eliminate Minnesota two days ago, but they eventually fell in a tightly contested clash. They still have the advantage, but knowing what the Timberwolves are capable of, Dallas has to keep their foot on the gas in the upcoming game.
Looking at how the past games have ended, it won't be surprising if Game 5 comes down to the fourth quarter once again. Another scenario of this sort will be nerve-racking for Mavericks fans, but then again, they have Luka Doncic on their team. And as everyone knows, Luka loves having the ball in his hands with the game on the line. He embraces those moments, and that's one of the main reasons why he's a superstar.
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