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Luka Doncic’s viral quote shows why Mavericks still have some hope to win Finals

Jared A’Latorre
Jared A’Latorre

The Smoking Cuban

Luka Doncic in 2024 NBA Finals - Game Three / Tim Heitman/GettyImages

The Dallas Mavericks are on the brink of the elimination after their Game 3 loss to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.

Until tipoff of Game 4, many media outlets will talk about how the Mavericks are in an impossible situation, down 3-0 in the NBA Finals.

Any team down 3-0 has not had any luck in such kind of a deficit in NBA Playoffs history.

Luka Doncic’s viral quote shows why Mavericks still have some hope to win Finals

Doncic was optimistic on facing such a 3-0 deficit in the 2024 NBA Finals. "It's not over until it's over," Doncic said. "We've just gotta believe."

Doncic is one to always believe even when the odds are stacked against him, and that case remained after Game 3. Doncic emphasized he and his teammates staying together, and his calm demeanor and motivation could give Mavs fans a glimmer of hope that this series isn't over yet.

While the Mavericks have to face as much adversity as they've ever done in their 44-year franchise history, their superstar is staying true to their goal.

While the Mavericks showed more heart in Game 3 than the previous two games, and while superstar Kyrie Irving did respond after two questionable performances, it still wasn't enough for Dallas to beat Boston.

Doncic did all he could for his team, finishing with 27 points, six rebounds and six assists. However, in the biggest NBA game of his life, he fouled out with just over four minutes to go in Game 3.

Regarding the rest of the team, Dallas head coach Jason Kidd made a bold move entering Tim Hardaway Jr. in the game for 19 minutes of play. Hardaway Jr. had been out of the rotation since the Western Conference Finals. Hardway Jr. missed all of his three-point attempts, going 0-3 from downtown and going 0-5 from the field overall.

In order for the Mavericks to have any chance to comeback in the NBA Finals, the bench for Dallas has to help out Doncic. The 2011 Mavericks Championship team was known for their bench scoring, and they have to help out Irving and Doncic in order to get back in the series.

No team in NBA History has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in any NBA playoff series ever, but Irving was a part of a Cleveland Cavaliers team in 2016 to comeback from a 3-1 NBA Finals deficit, being the only team to ever defy those odds in NBA History.

For more news on the Mavericks basketball in the NBA Finals, stay tuned.

Jared A’Latorre

Jared A’Latorre

Jared is the Site Expert of Sport DFW, and oversees Dallas sports all the time. He also spent time as a Senior Contributor to The Smoking Cuban, The Landry Hat and Gig Em' Gazette. His work has been featured on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, Yahoo Sports and MSN. He also covered various sports at Oklahoma State and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sports Media from Oklahoma State. He's done play-by-play radio broadcasting in North Central Oklahoma and currently does play-by-play radio broadcasting for high school football in North Texas. Jared is also a co-host for Grizzlies Digest, covering the Memphis Grizzlies. In his free time, Jared loves watching sports, spending time with family and friends and watching anything Billy Bob Thornton related.