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Luka Dončić Addresses Early Issues Incorporating Klay Thompson

Stephen Douglas

Luka Doncic and Klay Thompson during Mavericks game this season.
Luka Doncic and Klay Thompson during Mavericks game this season. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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The Dallas Mavericks beat the Chicago Bulls 119-99 on Wednesday night to improve their record to 5-3 to start the seson. Luka Doncic had 27 points and 13 assists while prize free agent signing Klay Thompson added 13 on 5-of-10 shooting.

The first few weeks of the season have been a bit of a mix for Thompson. He scored 22 in the first game of the season, but has yet to score 20 since, including been held to single-digits twice so far.

He's averaging 14.5 points per game on 12 field goal attempts per game in 29.4 minutes per game, all numbers which are the second lowest of his career, ahead of only his rookie season.

Luka Doncic addressed the Klay situation during an interview with NBA TV following the Mavericks' win last night.

"I think we're still trying to figure out," said Doncic. "You know it's not easy to connect with a guy right away. It's like I think me and [Kyrie Irving], we needed some time to connect. Now we have all three on the squad so obviously we're going to need some more time, but it's getting easier and easier figuring out how to play with him."

Doncic, Irving and Thompson will play four of their next five games on national television, including against the Suns on ESPN on Friday and then Klay's return to Golden State on TNT next Tuesday.

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a Senior Writer on the Breaking & Trending News Team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in journalism and media since 2008, and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Stephen spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and has previously written for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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