Even Luka Doncic was surprised by his buzzer-beater vs. Grizzlies: 'Kind of lucky'

Jordan Greer

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Even Luka Doncic was surprised by his buzzer-beater vs. Grizzlies: 'Kind of lucky' image

The Grizzlies got hit with a dose of "Luka Magic" on Wednesday night.

With only 1.8 seconds remaining in regulation and Dallas trailing Memphis by two points, everyone inside the FedEx Forum knew the ball was going to end up in the hands of Mavericks star Luka Doncic. After a Dallas timeout, Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber found Doncic with an inbound pass and let the All-Star guard do the rest.

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Doncic caught the ball, took two dribbles and threw up an awkward, off-balance floater from beyond the 3-point line. Swish. Mavs win.

Immediately after the game, Doncic, who finished with 29 points, nine assists and five rebounds in the victory, told ESPN's Dave Pasch that he was "surprised" to see the shot go in. During his postgame media availability, Doncic also described the shot as "kind of lucky."

"Sometimes you're gonna make it, but sometimes you're gonna miss it, too," Doncic said. "You've got to take that, too. I think that's the most important part. If my team trusts me in that moment, I'll keep working on it."

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle now "expects" Doncic to make shots with a high degree of difficulty. He told reporters that he has lost "thousands" of dollars betting against Doncic draining half-court heaves, and he has learned his lesson.

"I don't bet with him anymore because I've seen him do everything," Carlisle said. "I've seen him call swishes from half court. I've seen him kick the ball in from 40 feet. Anytime we walk into practice and he's sitting on a table getting stretched out behind the basket and says, 'Hey coach, if I make a shot, is practice over?' And I'm always like, 'Forget it. No way.' Because he's gonna make the shot. He's gonna make the shot some way.

"He's just a very, very special and unique guy when it comes to these kinds of things. He sees angles and possibilities and has a belief system that very few of us can fathom. So, pretty amazing stuff."

What will Doncic do for his next trick? Whatever it is, we'll all be watching.

Jordan Greer

Jordan Greer Photo

Jordan Greer has been with The Sporting News since 2015. He previously worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He is a graduate of Westminster College and Syracuse University.