Luka Doncic continues playoff struggles in Mavs' loss to Thunder: 'I've got to be better'

Luka Doncic rolled his eyes in displeasure before swiftly turning to sprint back on defense.

The visceral reaction came after a miscommunication with Mavericks center Daniel Gafford that led to his fifth turnover. Dallas coach Jason Kidd emptied the bench just four minutes later. Doncic's turnover commenced a game-changing run in the Thunder's 117-95 blowout victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Tuesday at Paycom Center.

Game 1 was a true battleground, testing the Slovenian MVP candidate's and crew's patience. Scoring deficits and second-chance points painted the night that materialized for the Mavs.

“I’ve got to be better — we’ve got to be better,” Doncic said. “They’re a great defensive and offensive team, so it’s not going to be easy at all. We have got to play very good, very focused basketball for all 48 minutes.”

More: How Jalen Williams, OKC Thunder sent a message with Game 1 rout of Mavericks

Doncic’s performance featured arguably the worst playoff game of his career, scoring 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting from the field and 1-of-8 shooting from 3-point range.

Doncic's poor play has been an abnormal pattern so far in the postseason, as the Mavs superstar tends to raise his play in the playoffs. Despite Dallas' first-round win against the Los Angeles Clippers, he had the least efficient playoff series of his career, shooting 40.5% from the field.

A significant factor in Doncic's rough opener Tuesday was the formidable defensive challenge posed by OKC's Lu Dort.

“He had some good looks from the 3-point line, so we’ve got to help him out,” Dallas head coach Jason Kidd said. “We have to get Dort off of (Doncic) a little bit better. We had some offensive fouls when we were setting screens on him today, so we’ll look at that to see if we can be better in that area.”

Doncic’s struggles can be attributed in part to a right knee injury sustained in Game 3 against the Clippers.

The tangible effects of the injury on the five-time All-Star are hard to miss. They manifest in his pained expressions during warmups, his noticeably slower first step and the lack of elevation in his jump shots.

However, Doncic and the Mavs don't have time for justifications. For the Mavericks to stand a chance in the series, it is imperative that Doncic significantly improves and returns to his usual playoff form.

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One tactic that worked for Dallas in its series against the Clippers was an uptick of Kyrie Irving at point guard while also working off screens from Doncic. As a result, Irving averaged 26.5 points on 51% shooting from the field and 45% from beyond the arc.

“For me and my teammates, we just have to continue to attack and continue to play downhill,” Irving said. “The pressure they were putting on us was definitely attributed to their excitement. There's some things to look back on, but their defensive pressure is not going to stop, so we’ve just got to adjust.”

Yet, a sign of hope for Dallas is history.

Since the organization drafted Doncic in 2018, the Mavs have won just one series opening game. Dallas has gone on to win three of its last four series when trailing to start.

It's a pattern which Doncic is highly aware of and feels a series deficit isn’t the end of the world.

“At the end of the day, one team has to get to four wins,” Doncic said. “Obviously we’d like to have Game 1, but we’ve just got to watch film and move onto the next one. There’s a new game in two days so we have another chance to win.”

More: How OKC Thunder's Mark Daigneault ascended from UConn manager to NBA Coach of the Year

Jordan Davis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jordan? He can be reached at jdavis@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @jdavis34_. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Jordan’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Luka Doncic continues NBA playoff struggles in Mavs' loss to Thunder