Mavs’ Luka Doncic is EVISCERATED by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst for ‘unacceptable’ effort in Game 3 loss to Celtics: ‘He is a hole on the court’

If Luka Doncic wanted sympathy after an error in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks star got none from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

“I thought it was perfect that Luka fell there in an unacceptable position to put himself in with four minutes to go and five fouls,” a sarcastic Windhorst said after the Mavericks fell into a 3-0 Finals hole with a 106-99 loss to the visiting Boston Celtics. ‘And then [Doncic] immediately looks at the couch and says, “You better squeak.” [the foul].” As if it’s the bank’s fault that he just made a terrible move.’

Windhorst warned Doncic of his sixth and final foul, which came with 4:12 to go. Boston would end the night on a 13-9 run to come within one win of the team’s 18th NBA title.

But it wasn’t just Doncic’s six costly fouls that drew Windhorst’s ire. Speaking to SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt via satellite from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Windhorst criticized the 25-year-old Slovenian for an “unacceptable” defensive effort.

“His defensive performance is unacceptable,” Windhorst said. ‘He’s a hole in the field. The Celtics attack him. They are ahead in this series because they attacked him defensively.”

Doncic talks to a referee after a game against the Boston Celtics in the fourth quarter

What compounded the problems for Doncic and the Mavs was his increasingly bad habit of complaining to officials.

For example, in one sequence of the first quarter, Doncic missed a step-back 3-pointer before appearing to talk to the officials, while Celtics star Jayson Tatum easily found teammate Sam Hauser on the other end for an open 3-pointer.

It was one of many similar examples for Doncic Wednesday night.

“And you have a situation here where people are complaining about the referee,” Windhorst continued, before suggesting this is a recurring problem in the Mavs’ locker room. “They begged him, they talked to him, they begged him. He is costing his team because of the way he treats the officials.”

Windhorst hasn’t completely written off Doncic. He emphasized that the former third overall draft pick “does so many things right” and credits him with propelling Dallas to the NBA Finals: “They’re here because of the way he did it.”

But for Windhorst, and for many NBA fans across the country, it was Doncic who was responsible for Dallas’ loss in Game 3.

“His performance in this game is unacceptable and the reason the Mavericks will not win,” Windhorst continued.

“I’m standing here in the Mavericks tunnel. There’s the Celtics tunnel. That’s where the winners are. If Luka ever wants to be a winner when he comes out of this tunnel, he will have to use what happened in this final as a learning experience.”

Doncic reacts in the third quarter after a game against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday

Windhorst spoke well after the final buzzer on Wednesday, at which point Doncic had already criticized the officiating to reporters.

“You know, six fouls in the NBA Finals, that’s basically me,” Doncic said, gesturing upward with his palms. ‘Come on man. Be better than that.’

Windhorst was not impressed.

“He’s got to get over this,” the veteran NBA reporter said. “And the fact that he came out after the game and blamed the referees showed me that he’s still a long way off.

“So maybe someone will get him over the summer. Because no one on the Mavericks or anyone else in their lives has done that. That’s where the Mavericks are right now.”

The Mavericks defeated the Celtics by nine points with Doncic on the court in Game 3, but struggled while on the bench with foul trouble.

Doncic’s night was compounded by poor shooting as he missed six of seven attempts from beyond the arc.