Dallas Mavericks: Luka Doncic falls to Domantas Sabonis in Skills Challenge

The Dallas Mavericks closed out the first half strong by winning nine of their last 11 games. Superstar Luka Doncic has the offense back producing at a historic rate as the team continues to climb the standings. He will be back in the MVP conversation if Dallas keeps winning.

The 22-year-old kicked off his All-Star weekend with the Taco Bell Skills Challenge on Sunday night. He competed in the competition in 2019 where Luka made the semifinals before falling to Trae Young. Doncic was planning on winning it all in 2021.

The 22-year-old superstar received a bye in the first this year and was quickly eliminated from the competition. Here is a closer look at how he fared in the 2021 Taco Bell Skills Challenge in Atlanta.

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic falls in Skills Challenge semifinals

Fans can see Luka in his All-Star uniform below.

The 2021 Taco Bell Skills Challenge featured six participants, so both Doncic and Chris Paul received byes into the semifinals. Domantas Sabonis topped Julius Randle in the opening round to earn the matchup against Doncic. The Pacers All-Star big man dominated Luka in the semifinals to knock the Mavericks star from the competition.

It was a disappointing showing for Luka, but the big men dominated the event. Nikola Vucevic defeated Chris Paul in the other semifinal to set up a matchup of All-Star centers in the final. Sabonis ended up winning the event with an impressive performance. He was the runner-up in 2020, but lifted the trophy in Atlanta.

Luka Doncic was far from done in Georgia on March 7. He started in the 2021 NBA All-Star game later in the evening. The pandemic forced all the events onto one night. The 22-year-old’s talent was showcased on Sunday night in Atlanta. Stay tuned for plenty more at The Smoking Cuban including everything Dallas Mavericks fans crave on their favorite team.