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[Saba Sports] The Dallas Mavericks are on the verge of being swept in the NBA Finals, and Luka Doncic believes the officiating in Game 3 contributed to their loss. The Mavericks are down 3-0 to the Boston Celtics after a 106-99 defeat on Wednesday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Doncic fouled out with just over four minutes left in the fourth quarter and criticized the officiating in his postgame press conference.
Demonstrating the position he was in for his sixth foul, Doncic said, “I don’t want to say nothing, but six fouls in the NBA Finals? I’m like this? Come on, man. (Be) better than that.” Doncic was playing with five fouls when he was called for a blocking foul against Celtics forward Jaylen Brown in transition. Dallas challenged the call, but the referees upheld it, determining Doncic had not established a legal guarding position.
At the time, the Mavericks were only trailing 93-90 and mounting a comeback, so the foul was costly. Doncic has struggled defensively in the NBA Finals, appearing a step slow, likely due to battling multiple injuries.
Dallas has scored fewer than 100 points in each of the three Finals games, suggesting that a handful of bad calls have not been the main difference in the series. The Celtics led by as much as 21 points during Game 3 and have been dominant. Doncic’s frustration likely stems more from the Mavericks’ overall performance than the officiating.