Luka Doncic taken down when the Mavericks were making a furious comeback causing terrible…

Luka Doncic positioned himself just beyond the 3-point line as the Dallas Mavericks mounted a fierce comeback. In his debut NBA Finals, Doncic was guarding Jaylen Brown when the Boston guard executed a dribble move, lowered his shoulder, and collided with Doncic, sending both players crashing to the floor with 4:12 remaining. The foul was called on Doncic, who sat on the court in disbelief, arms raised in protest.

Luka Doncic’s night came to an abrupt end after he committed his sixth foul of the game, which was also his fourth foul in the fourth quarter. Despite a challenge by coach Jason Kidd, the call was upheld, forcing Doncic out of the game. This proved to be a critical blow for the Dallas Mavericks, who ultimately fell to the Boston Celtics 106-99 on Wednesday night, putting the Celtics ahead 3-0 in the series.

Reflecting on the game, Doncic said, “Yeah, we had a good chance. We were close. Just didn’t get it. I wish I was out there.”

The Mavericks now find themselves in a nearly insurmountable position in the NBA Finals. They had managed a remarkable 22-2 run, starting shortly after Doncic’s first foul of the quarter, but their momentum halted following his disqualification. This marked only the third time in his six NBA seasons that Doncic fouled out, with 27 points scored despite a poor 1 of 7 shooting from beyond the arc. Notably, he had never before accumulated four fouls in a single quarter.

Historically, teams down 0-3 in a best-of-seven NBA playoff series have never managed to come back and win the series. Out of 157 instances, only four teams have forced a Game 7, and the sole occurrence of this happening in the NBA Finals was in 1951 with the New York Knicks.

As the Mavericks face the daunting task of overcoming a 3-0 deficit, the absence of Doncic during crucial moments of Game 3 stands as a significant turning point in their uphill battle to stay alive in the Finals.