ESPN NBA broadcaster Doris Burke made a very pointed remark about Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic during Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals on Wednesday night.
As the series headed to Dallas, the Mavericks found themselves with a small lead toward the end of the first quarter when Doncic attempted a 3-pointer that bounced off the rim and went right to the Boston Celtics.
During the transition, Doncic was slow to get up and didn’t get down the court fast enough to stop Celtics forward Sam Hauser from nailing his own 3-point shot to get Boston within three points.
Burke felt that Doncic was trying too hard in the moment to “bark at the officials” and didn’t get up quickly enough to keep his team from playing “5-on-4” basketball.
"A moment where Luka takes a minute to bark at the officials, doesn't sprint in transition and you're playing 5-on-4."
Doris Burke calls out Luka Dončić's defensive effort in a critical sequence late in the first quarter. pic.twitter.com/Dlds0hnTnF
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 13, 2024
That’s pretty sharp criticism from Burke for Doncic, who has emerged during this NBA playoffs as one of the true stars of the league.
It’s hard to disagree with her, too. Him getting up just a bit sooner could’ve made a difference to keep the Celtics from cutting into Dallas’ lead.
Feature image courtesy of ESPN.
