Mavericks star Luka Doncic sinks Grizzlies with incredible, buzzer-beating 3-pointer

It was supposed to be Grayson Allen's night. Allen stepped to the line with 1.8 seconds left in a game where he tied his season high with six 3-pointers.

But Allen, a 90.6% free-throw shooter, missed both. The shock resonated around FedExForum as the Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic dialed up one last play.

Doncic received the inbounds pass then double-clutched a shot while stumbling forward. It went in as the buzzer sounded and he calmly walked to the baseline with hands raised as teammates rushed him.

The Memphis Grizzlies, too, raised their hands, but in protest. The replay center confirmed it was a 3-pointer and Doncic was mobbed again.

“I was kind of falling down. It’s kind of lucky, but we’ll take it," Doncic said.

The Grizzlies lost 114-113 Wednesday and left disgusted from another gut-punching loss in a game they mostly controlled.

Cool Hand Luka

Doncic almost would've been blamed for the loss missing one of two free throws with 3.2 seconds left. But he wound up the hero to cap a strong second half.

He had just four points at halftime, but Doncic finished with 29 points and nine assists. He scored the Mavericks' final six points with a layup, free throw and finally, the falling 3-pointer on a night he shot 3-for-10 behind the arc.

"He's a really hard cover and that why he's an MVP candidate. He turned it on in the second half and I give him a lot of credit," Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said of Doncic.

Several fans chanted his name as he walked off the court. The Mavericks (30-24), seventh in the Western Conference, have beaten the Grizzlies twice with a third game to come in May.

“It certainly was quite a game,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “A lot of ups and downs. The last play was amazing. You look at the last minute or so. In those situations, you pull off a miracle in a game like that once in a blue moon. It just doesn’t happen very often.”

Tough to finish

The Grizzlies are now 1-5 in games decided by five points or less since March 1. Once again, they did plenty right despite not finding a win.

They defended Dallas well and got good games from Jonas Valanciunas (19 points, 15 rebounds) and Ja Morant (17 points). They didn't have a meltdown like against the New York Knicks last week.

Learning, however, can only do so much. Sometimes execution needs a bit of luck and once again, it wasn't on the Grizzlies' side against a battle-tested team.

"All you can do is force somebody into a tough shot and Luka made the tough shot. No reason to have our heads down or anything on how we played tonight," Morant said

Contributing: Associated Press

You can reach Evan Barnes on Twitter (@Evan_B) or by email at evan.barnes@commercialappeal.com

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Luka Doncic hits buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lift Mavs over Grizzlies