As the Dallas Mavericks face the Utah Jazz on Thursday night, they have had a concerning trend to start the season in terms of results in clutch games. After the Mavericks lost to the Warriors in a close game Tuesday, 120-117, star Luka Doncic spoke about their struggles in tight contests, such as the defeat they just went through.

So far the season, Doncic is averaging 28.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game while shooting 41.9 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from beyond the arch. He would be asked about the disappointing results in clutch games and was blunt in speaking about their performances to start the season, according to Grant Afseth.

“I think last year we were a very, very good clutch team,” Doncic said. “This year, not so good so far. We've lost two-straight by two or three points, so we just gotta work on closing out games.”

As Doncic has been dealing with a groin injury and playing through it against the Warriors, he was right in his assessment about last season. Dallas was 23-9 last season in clutch outings, which means that the game is within five points with five minutes left, whereas currently, they are 1-5 per NBA statistics.

Mavericks' Luka Doncic on regrets after potential game-tying shot

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts after the Mavericks were called for an offensive foul against the Golden State Warriors in the fourth quarter at the Chase Center.
Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

It is the start of the new season, which could mean that the Mavericks still need to get into the swing of things after reaching the NBA Finals last go around. However, there has been blame in the direction of Doncic from fans as he had the chance to tie the game against the Warriors but had questionable shot selection, which ended the game.

“I think it could've been way better,” Doncic said of his shot attempt towards the end of the game according to Sports Illustrated. “The shot clock was going down, so I was kinda trying to get to my spot, and then on the last shot, I was trying to look if somebody was open, so I saw there’s three, four seconds to go, so I just took the shot.”

Having roughly the same group this year, except with the Mavericks adding a star in Klay Thompson in the offseason, they look to turn their season around and snap the three-game skid they are currently on. In those three aforementioned games, the team lost by one, two, and three points, respectively, showing how close they are in these contests that will make any fan frustrated with the results.

At any rate, the Mavericks are now 5-6, which puts them 11th in the Western Conference as they next face the Jazz.