Luka Doncic tells Malika Andrews he disappointed Mavericks in tough NBA Finals loss and reveals his postgame message to the team

DALLAS Mavericks star Luka Doncic took responsibility for his disappointing performance in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday.

The five-time All-Star fouled out with four minutes remaining after a particularly inefficient night, leading to a 106-99 loss that put the Boston Celtics up 3-0 in the series.

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Doncic, 25, recorded 27 points, six rebounds, six assists and one steal in 38 minutes on the court.

The next day, the 6-foot-5 guard gave an affirmative answer when asked by NBA Today’s Malika Andrews if “he felt like he let his teammates down.”

The Slovenian also admitted to being fouled in the playoffs for the first time in his career, saying it happened at a particularly inopportune time.

“It was tough, probably not the smartest thing,” Doncic said.

“It was a physical game. To commit six fouls, I didn’t expect it.”

Doncic was fouled as Dallas made it a one-possession game, having fallen behind by 21 points early in the fourth quarter.

And the NBA star told Andrews he thinks the Mavericks would have won if he had stayed on the court until the final buzzer.

He also revealed the message he left for his Mavs teammates after the match.

“Just, ‘Too bad, you can’t do that — especially in the NBA Finals,’” Doncic told Andrews.

“The regular season is a little different. But we can’t do that in the Finals.”

Immediately after the game, Doncic criticized the officiating when asked about a foul.

The Mavs star was heavily criticized by NBA analysts for his behavior and overall performance.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said the Slovenian guard’s defensive effort was “unacceptable” in a crucial Finals matchup.

“I’m here in the Mavericks tunnel. That’s the Celtics tunnel,” Windhorst said.

“That’s where the winners are. If Luka wants to be a winner coming out of this tunnel here, he’s going to have to use what happened in these finals as a learning experience.

“His defensive performance is unacceptable. He’s a hole in the court.

“[The Celtics] They’re ahead in this series because they attacked him defensively.”

Stephen A. Smith teamed with Windhorst to destroy Doncic at First Take the next morning.

“Of course Luka deserves most of the blame for this. [loss],” said Stephen A. Smith on First Take.

“It was a horrible performance. 27 points on 27 shots.

“But it wasn’t because of that. It was because of the level of selfishness and lack of responsibility.

“You’re the star of the team. You’re supposed to be the leader of the team.”

Kyrie Irving bounced back in Game 3 after a rough start to the series, recording 35 points, three rebounds and two assists against his former teammates.

The Mavericks will look to extend the series on Friday by hosting the Celtics again in Game 4, with kickoff scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.