The Dallas Mavericks were once again in a close game, this time against the Utah Jazz, and they failed to get the victory. This time, Luka Doncic did not take the game-winning attempt, but he passed it to Naji Marshall in the corner, where he missed. After the game, Doncic doubled down on passing the ball instead of taking the shot himself.

“Yeah, we believe in those shots,” Doncic said. “It's in the corner, open three, so I'll take it any time.”

Doncic is known for taking the final shots no matter how the defense is guarding him, and on a night without Kyrie Irving, it only made sense for him to take. This time, he decided to hit the open man, but the shot just didn't go in. Marshall shared his thoughts about Doncic passing him the ball in the final seconds.

“Means a lot. Best player, give me the confidence to shoot that shot,” Marshall said. “Like I said, I'll make the next one, man. Stuff happens. Great pass. Just gotta make it.”

The Mavericks have now lost four games in a row, and they've all come in close games where they've had the shot at the end but didn't make it.

Luka Doncic, Mavericks on four-game losing streak

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) drives against Utah Jazz forward Kyle Filipowski (22) during the fourth quarter at Delta Center.
Rob Gray-Imagn Images
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The Mavericks have been in most of their games this season, and it's come down to the final possession, they just haven't been able to execute. They were leading late against the Jazz, but Luka Doncic was caught sleeping on his assignment, and John Collins got an easy dunk.

“That was a misunderstanding. I thought I was gonna go hit and Grimes thought he was gonna go hit…We misunderstood the bench. That's on me,” Doncic said after the game, per Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News.

Doncic previously spoke about the Mavericks and their clutch record this season, which is now 1-6 after their loss to the Jazz.

“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.”

The Mavericks have two of the best clutch players on their team with Doncic and Kyrie Irving, and at the end of the day, the shots just have to go in. At the same time, it might be best if head coach Jason Kidd decided to run plays toward the end of the game instead of just letting those two go iso to try and win the game.