Mavs Talk: ‘We Can’t Just Rely on Luka’ - Kidd After Loss to Chicago

Mavs Talk: 'We can't just rely on Luka,' says head coach Jason Kidd after 117-107 loss to Chicago Bulls

On Wednesday night, the Dallas Mavericks fell to a stacked Chicago Bulls team in a challenging 117-107 matchup on Wednesday night.

The Mavericks couldn’t rely on star Luka Doncic’s prowess alone to overcome a Bulls team featuring DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, Zach Lavine, and Nikola Vucevic.

This was particularly true on Wednesday night, as Doncic performed underwhelmingly. Doncic went 6-18 from the field (1-6 from three) to a total of 20 points. He also had eight rebounds and eight assists.

Postgame, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd emphasized that the team can’t depend on Doncic alone to gain momentum:

"We can't just rely on Luka and wait on Luka."

Big man Kristaps Porzingis played well, racking up 22 points and 12 rebounds, allowing the Mavs to stay competitive.

Ultimately Porzingis' efforts weren't enough, and Dallas' season record dropped to 7-4.

Now, let's hear the Mavs talk:

Kidd on giving Doncic more post touches when his outside shot isn't falling:

"That will come in due time as the season goes on."

Doncic on his performance:

"Bad."

Doncic on expectations of him:

"Every time people expect [me] to have an amazing game, not have a night off."

Porzingis on what went wrong:

"Just minor things that we have to clean up, I would say. Just be more detail-oriented."

Porzingis on what comes next:

"I felt good. It's just one of those nights where it's too many mistakes on our part. We have the talent, we just have to grow from this."

Tim Hardaway Jr. (21 points) on what the Mavs have to do:

"We just got to be better, but we can't just go on saying it."

Up next, the Mavericks will travel once again to face the San Antonio Spurs. Dallas defeated the Spurs 109-108 just over a week ago, and they will aim for a repeat performance on Friday.