NBA legend Charles Barkley has nothing but respect for Dallas Mavericks stars Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis for the way they have stood up against the Los Angeles Clippers' bullying.
The first three games of the Mavs-Clippers first-round playoffs matchup has been intense, to say the least. In Game 1, KP was ejected after getting into a heated exchange with Marcus Morris, who was getting overly physical and allegedly “provocative” of Luka Doncic.
Meanwhile, in Game 3, Doncic got into it with Montrezl Harrell after a series of chippy plays between the two teams.
The Mavs lost Friday's showdown with the Clippers, but Barkley couldn't be more proud of the European duo of Dallas for not backing down.
Article Continues Below“Porzingis and Doncic are not backing down. I love this, man. You know they're trying to bully them, and they're standing up to the bully. … Dallas got a bright future, man,” Charles Barkley said during their NBA on TNT segment, per Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News.
Both Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis are playing in their first NBA playoffs series, so seeing them go against a team filled with playoff veterans like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George is certainly an encouraging sign for Dallas.
The Mavs fell 2-1 to the Clippers in their best-of-seven series. With that said, they will need to step up in Game 4, which is expected to be another heated and highly physical affair.
So far in the series, Doncic is averaging 27.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists — highlighted by a 42-point explosion in Game 1. Meanwhile, Porzingis is putting up 23.7 markers and 8.7 boards, boosting his averages after a 34-point, 13-rebound performance in Game 3.
Regardless of the outcome of the playoff series though, as Chuck highlighted, the future of the Mavs is bright with Doncic and Porzingis leading the way.