Mavs Talk: ‘I'm Not Surprised,’ Says Doncic After Christmas Loss to Lakers

Dallas Mavs Talk: ‘I'm Not Surprised,’ Says Luka Doncic After Dropping 27 in Christmas Defeat to Lakers 138-115

Tomer Barazani | Dec 26, 2020

Luka Doncic may be favored to win MVP, but Christmas once again proved that reigning Finals MVP LeBron James still sits in the throne in the NBA. On Friday night, Doncic and the Mavericks dropped to 0-2 for the season, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers 138-115.

Here, Mavs Talk ...

Luka Doncic (27 points, 7 assists) Highlights vs. LA Lakers

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle on second-chance points:

"I don't think I've ever seen a game where a team has given up 35 second chance points and gotten zero. Obviously, it's the story of the game."

Trey Burke on the Mavs’s performance:

"We didn't compete for 48-minutes like we're supposed to compete. That's a championship team over there… Defensively, it's effort. One through Five. ... Offensively, we're still working things out."

Luka Doncic on disappointing defensive performance:

"I'm not surprised a lot. You can't win a game when you give up 35 second chance points to zero. ... We've got to box out."

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle on overall team effort:

"I see a lot of possessions that we show a level of tenacity that's necessary but too many that we don't...Rebounding is a problem, it's a concern. So, we've got to look at that...We've gotta get tougher.''

Josh Richardson on the second-chance points deficit:

"I think a lot of it comes from us turning and running to the rim when the shot goes up and not looking for bodies."

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle Kristaps Porzingis return:

"He's making progress all the time. At this point I'm confident in saying it's weeks, not months. That's all I'm going to tell you.”

The road doesn’t get much easier for the Mavs, with a quick turnaround between this loss and their next game on Sunday afternoon against the undefeated Los Angeles Clippers.

Published Dec 26, 2020

TOMER BARAZANI