Luke Doncic is one of the most intense competitors on an NBA court. That was on full display Friday night in Minnesota.
The Mavericks star guard came up with one of his biggest shots in his career, sinking a game-winning 3-point attempt with just seconds remaining in regulation to lift Dallas to a 109-108 win over Minnesota. With the victory, the Mavericks claimed both games on the road, and take a 2-0 series lead back home in the Western Conference Finals.
Doncic paved the way for the Mavericks in the Game 2 win, securing team-highs of 32 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. It was the fifth time he's finished with a triple-double in the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
As is the case with almost every clutch shot, someone else is on the defensive end. In this case, that was Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, the four-time Defensive Player of the Year. While Gobert may be an excellent defender in the paint, he had no answer to guarding Doncic in the final seconds — and the Mavericks standout made sure he heard it as soon as his basket went in.
MORE: Everything you need to know about Luka Doncic's game-winner
Here is more on what Doncic said to Gobert after his heroics.
What did Luka Doncic say to Rudy Gobert?
Doncic wasn't going to let Gobert off the hook after he cooked him in 1 on 1 coverage. After the shot fell, Doncic had a NSFW message to send to the Minnesota center.
"Motherf—! You can't f—ing guard me," Doncic appeared to yell in Gobert's face.
He then followed that up by supposedly screaming at the crowd at the Target Center to "Go home b—!"
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) May 25, 2024
Luka Doncic press conference
Before Doncic could even sit down and get comfortable for his postgame press conference after Game 2, a reporter was ready with a question about his exchange with Gobert.
A reporter asked the Mavericks star if it was true that the Timberwolves big "can't effing guard" him. Doncic decided to play dumb, brushing aside the question by saying, "I didn’t say that. I was speaking Slovenian."
Reporter:
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 25, 2024
“So he (Rudy Gobert) can’t f'ing guard you?”
Luka Doncic:
“Who said that?”
Reporter:
“You said that.”
Luka:
“I didn’t say that. I was speaking Slovenian😁”
(via @3swohlman) pic.twitter.com/CJQYJfxyoo
Doncic then went into the final few seconds of the game, detailing his point of view of what unfolded that allowed him to get the game-winning shot off.
MORE: Dirk Nowitzki, Trae Young among best reactions to Luka Doncic's heroics
"I don't decide what I'm going to look [for] before the play," Doncic explained. "I just see what the defense gives me. I didn't expect the switch, we were just going to play that pick and roll. We'll just figure it out from there. That's about it."
You can watch his full press conference below:
Luka Doncic game-winner vs. Timberwolves
With 30 seconds remaining in regulation, the Timberwolves were in the driver's seat. Holding a two-point lead, all Minnesota needed to do was maintain possession and milk out the clock to give the Mavericks as little time as possible even if they had the chance to tie or win the game at the buzzer.
Instead, Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards allowed Dallas a great chance. A bad turnover by the All-Star gave the Mavericks an extended final possession — and Doncic was not wasting it.
The Slovenian star received the inbounds pass with 12 seconds remaining. Dallas' Dereck Lively II came up to screen Minnesota's Jaden McDaniels to force a switch. It put Doncic on a one-on-one matchup with Gobert, a bad mismatch that heavily favored Doncic. He showed exactly why, using his handles to create separation from Gobert and put up a step-back 3-pointer that fell through, giving the Mavs a one-point lead with three seconds remaining.
LUKAAA 🎯 pic.twitter.com/Gf30ye0emm
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 25, 2024
Minnesota had one last chance to get a bucket, but Naz Reid's heave hit the back of the rim, falling short. As a result, Dallas walked away with an incredible comeback win, and head back to Texas with a 2-0 series lead.
