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As the Dallas Mavericks essentially waved the white flag, replacing all of their starters with 2:37 left in Monday’s Game 5, Kyrie Irving walked to the other end of the floor to congratulate his former teammates Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, as well as other Boston Celtics players. Irving returned to the bench and hugged and spoke briefly with teammate Luka Doncic, who was finishing up his first NBA Finals appearance.
“We said, ‘We’ll fight together next season, and we just going to believe,'” Doncic spoke after the Mavericks lost 106-88 to the Celtics, who won their record-breaking 18th NBA title.
Irving termed it as a “bitter” finale to a “really positive journey” for the Mavericks, who rebuilt their supporting cast around its star combination during the last year, rebounding from a lottery finish to win the Western Conference title. The Mavs, led by their 25-year-old five-time first-team All-NBA selection, are expected to be a contender in the coming years.
“We answered a lot of questions this year about what we were capable of doing, and now it’s just about being consistent,” said Irving, who struggled again at TD Garden, finishing Game 5 with 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting. “I think perhaps in the last week, I indicated that I wanted to be recognized as one of the best teams of this age, and our last few champions have been different every year.
“So, I see a chance for us to really shape our future in a great way, where this is nearly a regular occurrence for us and we’re contending for championships. From a spiritual sense, I believe I liked this journey more than any other season, just because of the redemption arc and the opportunity to learn as much as I did about myself, my teammates, the organization, and the people around me.”
Doncic, who finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 7 turnovers in the elimination game, wasn’t in a reflective mood Monday night. He did, however, express his “great” optimism about the franchise’s future. Doncic became the first player in NBA history to lead the league in points (635), rebounds (208), assists (178), and steals (41) during the playoffs. That was despite sustaining a right knee sprain in the first round and a thoracic contusion in the Finals opener, which necessitated pregame pain-killing injections for the remainder of the series.
“It doesn’t matter if I was hurt, how much was I hurt,” Doncic stated. “I was outside. I attempted to play, but I didn’t contribute enough.” The injuries, however, have called Doncic’s eligibility to play for the Slovenian national team this summer into question. Slovenia will kick off its Olympic qualification tournament in Greece on July 2. “I don’t want to talk about what’s next, man,” Doncic replied. “I’ve got some decisions to make. I’m just trying to get a little healthier.”
Doncic, an MVP finalist who won the scoring title this season, has described his first Finals appearance as a learning experience. He cited the journey of the Celtics, a perennial contender that lost in the Finals two years ago, as a path the Mavs could emulate.”For him at the age of 25 to get to the Finals, to be playing his basketball at the level that he’s playing is, now it’s just being consistent,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “When you have one of the best players in the world, you should be always fighting for a championship.”
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