Key Luka Dončić Game 1 Stat Highlights Mavericks’ Struggles vs. Celtics

Highlights

The Dallas Mavericks struggled offensively in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.
Dončić carries team with 30 points, but one stat was eye-opening in the fact that he had just three total assists.
Teammates failed to hit shots, impacting Dončić’s final assist total.

To say Game 1 of the NBA Finals didn’t go the Dallas Mavericks’ way would be a massive understatement. The Boston Celtics came out of the gates firing, taking a 37-20 lead after the first quarter. From there, they controlled the game throughout.

There was one point in the ball game when the Mavericks trimmed the lead down to 8. The Celtics weathered the storm. They re-established the dominance they had shown all night and ended up winning the game 107-89.

The return of Kristaps Porziņģis, coming off the bench and scoring 20 points in 20 minutes was certainly a sore spot for the Mavericks. Dereck Lively nearly fouling out of the game did no favors, either. However, the most concerning part of this loss centers around Luka Dončić.

Make no mistake about it: Dončić was far and away Dallas’ best performer. He scored over a third of the team’s points during the evening, dropping 30 points on 46.2 percent from the field. However, one stat from tonight doesn’t look like the typical Luka: his assists (or lack thereof).

Dončić is one of the best passers in the league. In fact, he’s led the NBA Playoffs in that category throughout this year’s run. Dončić struggled in that department during Game 1, but it was by no fault of his own. The Mavericks supporting cast did not show up in this one.

Dallas’ Depth Struggles Mightily

‘No help’ argument sounds like an excuse, but it was true in Game 1

Kyrie Irving Luka Dončić Dallas Mavericks

Anyone watching the game tonight can tell you that Dončić had several moments where he set up teammates in good positions to score. Tonight, those shots just weren’t dropping for the Mavericks.

Mavericks’ Stats From Game 1
Category	Irving	Washington	Jones Jr.
Points	12	14	5
FG-FGA	6-19	5-11	2-9
FG%	31.6	45.5	22.2
3P-3PA	0-5	0-3	1-2
3P%	0	0	50.0

Kyrie Irving struggled mightily in Game 1 against his old team. He had a +/- rating of -19 for the Mavericks, the worst of anyone on the team. Irving had plenty of opportunities for some easier looks throughout the game, he just couldn’t hit them.

Washington, on paper, does not look as bad of an offender as some of the others in this game. However, the missed opportunities from beyond the arc were relatively open looks, created by Dončić. The Celtics outdid the Mavericks from behind the line in this game, hitting a total of 16 three-pointers with good efficiency. When the Mavericks needed those same shots to keep up, they didn’t have them.

Dončić’s final line from this game is a perfect representation of Dallas’ issues in Game 1. The players around Dončić couldn’t hit their shots reliably, so he took matters into his own hands as best as he could. Luka even had the first 30-point double-double in a Finals debut since Tim Duncan did it in 1999.

Dončić isn’t the type of player to throw his teammates under the bus, instead the focus will likely immediately shift to the improvements needed for Game 2. Tonight, however, Dončić has every right to feel let down.

Stats are courtesy of NBA.com.