Mavericks’ Dončić Thinks He’s Earned Some Rest After Closing Out Clippers

Highlights

Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving’s backcourt duo is finally clicking, leading Dallas to playoff success.
Dončić played through illness and injury, averaging nearly a triple-double in the 6-game series victory.
Dallas faces a tough challenge with the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the next playoff round.

After eliminating the Los Angeles Clippers in six games in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, the Dallas Mavericks are moving on to take on the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder. In the closeout game, star guards Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić each played 42-plus minutes in the game.

Additionally, despite fighting through an illness and a knee injury, Dončić played at least 39 minutes in every game of the series. After the game, the Slovenian native was asked about how he felt physically, saying he felt “terrible, man. I need some rest.”

In the six-game series, Dončić averaged 29.8 points, 9.5 assists, and 8.8 rebounds while playing 42.5 minutes per game.

Dončić and Irving Duo is Finally Working

Dallas went 10-18 to end the 2022-23 season after acquiring Irving at the Trade Deadline

Despite the duo’s slow together, Dončić and Irving are finally meshing and leading a potential championship contender. Together, the pair is 40-27 and now have a playoff series victory under their belt. Recently, Irving talked about teaming up with Dončić last season and admitted he knew they “were going to have some growing pains.”

“Initially, I knew that [me and Luka] were going to have some growing pains. But I just came with the best intentions. It was the first time for me getting traded midseason and having to pick my family up, transition. But I’ve alway [sic] respected Luka.”

The two complement each other very well on the basketball court and appear to respect each other as well. Although Dončić has yet to make it to the NBA Finals, Irving has that experience, winning a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. If they can continue to play their style of basketball, an NBA Finals appearance could be on the horizon for the 2019 NBA Rookie of the Year.

Dallas Faces a Big Challenge Up Ahead

Mavericks were 1-3 against the Thunder during the regular season

The Mavericks will now prepare to face their toughest challenge yet. Oklahoma City is coming off a series sweep against the New Orleans Pelicans and ended the regular season as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

Led by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and NBA Coach of the Year Mark Daigneault, the Thunder have proven they are a threat to make it to the NBA Finals. However, Dallas is on a roll and should make it an interesting series. Game 1 begins on Tuesday, May 7 at 9:30 PM EST.

All stats courtesy of Basketball Reference and StatMuse.