ESPN’s Brian Windhorst didn’t pull any punches when talking about Luka Doncic’s performance in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Not only did Windhorst blast Doncic for constantly complaining to the officials, he ripped the All-Star guard’s deficiencies on defense.
“I thought that it was perfect that Luka fell onto the ground there in an unacceptable position to put himself in with four minutes left and five fouls, and then immediately looks over at the bench and says ‘You better bleeping challenge it’. As if it’s the bench’s fault that he just made a terrible play.” Windhorst said. “I’m standing here in the Mavericks tunnel. Over there is the Celtics tunnel. That’s where the winners are. If Luka is ever gonna be a winner coming out of this tunnel here, he is gonna have to use what happened in this Finals as a learning experience.”
Windhorst didn’t stop there with his assessment of Doncic’s performance.
“His defensive performance is unacceptable,” Windhorst added. “He is a hole on the court. The Celtics are attacking him. They are ahead in this series because they have attacked him defensively. And you’ve got a situation here where is complaining about the officiating. They have begged him, they have talked with him, they have pleaded with him. He is costing his team because of how he is treating the officials.”
Check out Windhorst’s epic rant:
Brian Windhorst BLASTS Luka Dončić on ‘SportsCenter with SVP’ after Game 3 of the NBA Finals. 🏀🔥🔥🔥
(Doris Burke also called out Luka’s defensive effort on the ESPN on ABC broadcast: https://t.co/iAs1rZSpdI ) pic.twitter.com/rGlFwPYwNN
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 13, 2024
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It’s hard to fault Windhorst for letting off steam on “SportsCenter.” The reality is Doncic didn’t come through when the Dallas Mavericks needed him most.
The pressure will be on Doncic this Friday as the Mavericks hope to avoid a four-game sweep.
Tipoff for Game 4 of the NBA Finals is at 8:30 p.m. ET.