Luka Doncic Put a Profane Exclamation Mark on Mavericks Win vs. Timberwolves

Doncic's late three-pointer sealed Tuesday's 120-114 win over the Timberwolves.
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic talks to fans after hitting a three-pointer in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on October 29.
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic talks to fans after hitting a three-pointer in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on October 29. / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Luka Doncic had ice water in his veins during the fourth quarter of Tuesday's 120-114 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center.

With Dallas leading by five points and a little over a minute remaining in the game, Doncic, with the ball at the top of the key and Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker switched onto him, dribbled just to the left of the Target Center logo, stepped back and drilled a huge three-pointer to extend the Mavericks' lead to eight points.

Doncic's clutch shot effectively ended the game—and he made sure to let Timberwolves fans know that, shouting a profane message in their direction moments after sinking the triple.

"That's what I f---ng do!" Doncic shouted.

After the game, Doncic, who shot 10-for-27 from the field and struggled from three-point range earlier in the contest, was at a loss to explain how he made the logo three-pointer and not some of his lower-degree-of-difficulty shots earlier in the contest.

"I don’t know how I make those shots and not the normal shots," Doncic said. "But, at the end of the day, I just needed to get the rustiness out and all the way back. I didn't play the whole preseason, so I need some time. But we got a win, and that's all that matters."

And as for the Timberwolves fans?

"Oh yeah I heard a lot of stuff. They really like me here," Doncic said with a smile. "Last year was fun. It's a big moment in my career, in my life. It was fun to be back here."

Last year in the postseason, Doncic averaged 32.4 points per game en route to taking home Western Conference Finals MVP honors as the Mavericks dispatched Minnesota in five games this past May.

All the while, Doncic heard the boos from the Timberwolves crowd. His heroics Tuesday will only add to the list of reasons Minnesota fans have to continue to boo the Mavericks star.


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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.