Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic still believes they can beat the Golden State Warriors, despite the Mavericks still being down 1-3 after tonight's win in Dallas 119-109 (28-24, 34-23, 37-23, 20-39).

Odds are against the Luka led Mavs. No team ever had come back from a 3-0 deficit in a playoff series. However, that does not faze Luka's belief.

"I mean, I still believe we can win, you know," Doncic said. "Swept or not swept, in the end, if you lose, you lose. Don't matter how many we win. We have to go game by game. We're going to believe until the end."

The Dallas Mavericks are 0-3 down against the Golden State Warriors, despite superb Luka Doncic.

Luka Doncic scored 21 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough for the Dallas Mavericks to make a comeback against the Golden State Warriors.

Andrew Wiggins secured the must-see highlight with a rim-rocking poster dunk over Luka Doncic in the Golden State Warriors' 109-100 win in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.

After losing the first two games of the Western Conference finals and wasting a 19-point lead on Friday, Luka Doncic was confident that the Mavericks could take the next two games in Dallas to answer the Golden State Warriors.

Ever since the Dallas Mavericks-Atlanta Hawks trade happened during the 2018 NBA Draft, Trae Young has been living with comparisons to Luka Doncic.

The Dallas Mavericks lost Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors two nights ago. The information has surfaced that their leader, Luka Doncic, might now have been in the best condition during the match.

"I hear he's sick today," Kevin Harlan, who was the play-by-play announcer for TNT for the game, said during KNBR's Papa & Lund podcast. "I guess he was up most of the night and ill. I’ve heard it now from two different people, so I’m assuming it’s probably true."

"The body language that he showed, just the zest that he showed in Game 7 in Phoenix was not there last night," the announcer told. "And I’m not sure if perhaps he was a little bit under the weather. He didn’t play like he played in the Suns series, that’s for sure, and he needed every ounce of what he gives them, and that was not apparent."

"I don’t want to diminish at all what the Warriors did," Harlan continued. "It was sound and clear cut, there’s no ambiguity there whatsoever. ... I’m just passing along what I heard from two people that he was up all night and sick."

Belgrade brings back good memories for Real Madrid. 2018 was the last time Real Madrid won the EuroLeague, and now they return for another title hunt.

However, they will try to do that without one of the biggest EuroLeague stars Luka Doncic, who's now breaking records in the NBA.

Doncic left Europe after completely conquering it. Being 19 years old, Doncic has won EuroBasket, EuroLeague title, EuroLeague regular season MVP, EuroLeague Final Four MVP, three Spanish ACB League titles, and two Spanish Cup titles.

Now, the Slovenian superstar is trying to bring glory to Dallas, where his led Mavericks just started the Western Conference series against the Golden State Warriors.

The beginning wasn't easy as Mavericks lost Game 1 87-112, while Doncic scored 20 points on 6/18 shooting from the field.

However, his performance in the series against the Suns left many people stunned. In a decisive Game 7, Doncic accumulated 35 points (6/8 2PT, 6/11 3PT, 5/5 FT), ten rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two turnovers.

In his fourth year in the NBA and his third playoffs, the 23-year-old Slovenian has already played four elimination games. He averages 38.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists. 

38 points per elimination game is by far the best result. In the second place is legendary Michael Jordan, who played 13 such games throughout his career and averaged 31.3 points per duel.

The Dallas Mavericks did not have their dream start to the NBA Western Conference Finals as the team lost in a resounding fashion in Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors.

Talking about the match, Mavs superstar Luka Doncic took full blame for the painful loss. The guard scored only 2 of his 20 points in the second half, while the team lost the final 24 minutes by 16 points.

"They were doing a great job on me, especially in the second half," Luka explained. "I have to be better, it's on me. I have to be better for the whole group, so that's on me."

"Of course, we can do things to be better," the Slovenian wunderkind continued. "I think, during the first quarter we had a lot of open looks, the second one also, but in the second half, we didn't."

The tough start to the series changes nothing for the team, Doncic says. "I said it during the Phoenix series, we're going to believe," Doncic told the media after the game. "The confidence level is the same. It's tough to win every game, you're going to lose some but the confidence level stays the same."

What are the keys to victory in the second match? "We have to play better," the Mavericks superstar explained in simple terms. "We have to play tougher. Just like in the Phoenix series after Game 1, we have to learn from there. Game 2 was the same as Game 1, so we have to learn from that. We have to come out hard and play better."

Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals series is scheduled to take place Friday night.

Full Luka Doncic press conference:

Real Madrid combo guard Fabien Causeur smiled when asked if he ever had a conversation with Luka Doncic that he owes him the MVP award.

"It's not that! But we joked about it," one of the best French guards said.

In the 2018 EuroLeague final, Causeur led Real in scoring (17 PTS) and efficiency (21 PIR) to beat Fenerbahce Istanbul 85-80.

However, the EuroLeague media decided to give the MVP award to a teenager who had just turned 19 two months before the title game. Doncic had 15 points, four assists, and 17 PIR that night.

"Of course, he played a great tournament, and I played a great tournament. But I was so happy just to get the title as a team. It's not about individual awards. If you get the MVP award, it's a cherry on the cake. But we just joked about it, and he deserved it," Causeur continued.

They had plenty of opportunities to joke about it since Causeur and Doncic were roommates that year.

They also shared the same room in Belgrade before the last EuroLeague game for Luka Doncic.

Causeur was a six-year EuroLeague veteran at the age of 30 back then. But he still couldn't calm down before the big game against Fenerbahce.

"Before the final, I couldn't sleep. It was 2:00 at night, and I couldn't sleep," Causeur told a funny story to BasketNews. "But Luka was sleeping all the time. He was snoring on the side like there was no pressure at all."

"For him, it was just another game. The kid was special, I'm telling you," Causeur added.

When Pablo Laso won the EuroLeague last time, he had Luka Doncic at his disposal.

Laso is in Belgrade with Real Madrid again to win his first EuroLeague title in four years.

But the difference is that Doncic is on a different campaign now, fighting for the NBA title with the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals.

NBA people doubted Doncic despite winning the EuroLeague season and Final Four MVP awards in 2018.

But once again, his former coach in Madrid Pablo Laso said he didn't have any doubts on Luka's success in the NBA.

He also explained what made Luka so good.

"Luka has been a great player since he came to Madrid at age of 13. But he was a great person from that day. That makes him so big," Laso started.

"When people talk about NBA and how he was going to play there, I didn't have any doubts. No doubts that he's going to play good. Probably the best thing that he has as a person and as a player is that he's able to adjust to any situation. That's something you have as a person. And Luka has it. I'm very happy for him. I wish him luck for sure."

"Ajde, Doncic," the Nikola Tesla's airport staff member made way for BasketNews daily editor when he noticed him wearing Luka Doncic jerseys.

On his way to the Final Four city, Edvinas Jablonskis saluted Doncic's spectacle in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals vs. the Phoenix Suns, where Luka went off for another remarkable 35-point performance.

But Doncic's name also has another meaning for the upcoming EuroLeague fiesta in the Serbian capital.

Apparently, Doncic played his last EuroLeague game in the previous Final Four that Belgrade hosted in 2018.

He left the EuroLeague floor in style as the EuroLeague champion, the Final Four MVP, and the season 2017-18 MVP.

On top of that, he made history, becoming the youngest EuroLeague season and Final Four MVP at the age of 19.

Luka Doncic led the Dallas Mavericks to the Western Conference finals where they'll face the Golden State Warriors. The matchup against Steph Curry and Klay Thompson is definitely an interesting topic but the Slovenian start believes that the real key to the Warriors is another player: Draymond Green. 

"I have so much respect for Draymond as a guy, you know", Doncic said to the reporters before Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. "Obviously, Steph and Klay are two incredible offensive players but I think that the key to the Warriors' team is Draymond". 

"He's just unbelievable, man, I mean everything he does on the court, I really respect him", Doncic added. "He's not the best offensive player but he impacts the game in every other category, so I really have a lot of respect for him". 

Doncic also explained that he enjoys trash-talking with Green. 

"Obviously, we're gonna have some words", Doncic said. "But I love that part of the game, you know, it's the fun part". 

Although their relationship had some ups and downs, especially in their last season together, former Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle, now with the Indiana Pacers, has very few doubts about the future of Mavs star Luka Doncic. 

Coach Carlisle spoke to a radio show and talked about the amazing impact that Doncic is having on the Mavericks during the NBA playoffs and how great his career will be moving forward. 

"I don't have any question in my mind that there'll be multiple MVPs in his future", coach Carlisle said of Doncic. "There'll be championships in his future. He has a real, great, natural sense for the moment". 

Coach Carlisle also praised the changes that current Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd was able to bring in this season, especially on the defensive end. 

"Jason was able to bring an attitude that was needed", coach Carlisle commented. 

After defeating the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference semifinals, the Dallas Mavericks will now face the Golden State Warriors in the conference finals. 

During these playoffs, Luka Doncic is averaging 31.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 2 steals per game, while shooting 34.7% from three-point. 

The Serbian national team head coach Svetislav Pesic gave a lecture to the students of Nikola Tesla University in Belgrade.

A couple of Pesic's answers touched on European basketball superstars and Nikola Jokic's availability for the upcoming EuroBasket 2022, via MozzartSport.

"Jokic will play for the national team only under one condition, and that is to become a better player through the Serbian national team. It is not a question of whether he loves his country. That is undoubted. He is a proud Serb, who writes messages to me in Cyrillic.

We have to find a way to motivate him to compete with the best players in Europe. If he is not motivated, if he has no interest, then there is no point in playing," Pesic pointed out.

Last week, Jokic was officially named NBA MVP for the second straight season. He is the 13th player to win back-to-back MVPs.

Luka Doncic's 35-point game in Phoenix has caught the attention of basketball people all around the globe. 

After CJ McCollum, who tweeted that "an NBA road game isn’t really pressure" to the Dallas Mavericks superstar, his brother Errick came forward with a tweet to remind everyone of the skepticism prevailing over Doncic's case when the Slovenian boy prodigy first moved to the NBA.

"I remember when Charles Barkley criticized overseas basketball and the EuroLeague because 'we let an 18-year-old kid get MVP of league and dominate.'

Now look what that same kid been doing to the NBA since he got drafted! He dominating more, and it look easier for him," Errick McCollum wrote on Twitter. 

After falling behind 2-0 and 3-2 in the series, the Dallas Mavericks won the final two games by an average of 30 points.

Luka Doncic delivered a one of a kind performance in Game 7 against the Phoenix Suns, dropping 35 points in 30 minutes, as the Mavericks cruised to the Western Conference finals. 

Doncic finished the game with 35 points (6/8 2PT, 6/11 3PT, 5/5 FT), 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 turnovers. His show captured the attention of former and current NBA players who showed some intense reaction on social media. 

Patrick Beverley felt some vindication for picking Mavs and Luka to go all the way.

Luka Doncic went for 35 points in 30 minutes, Spencer Dinwiddie added 30, while the Dallas Mavericks put up a spectacular performance in crucial Game 7 against the Phoenix Suns.

The visiting Mavericks beat the no. 1 seed Suns 123-90 (27-17, 30-10, 35-23, 31-40) and won the series 4-3.

A victory by 33 points in Game 7 tied the 5th biggest win in an entire NBA history. The record is being held by the Mavericks as well, who beat the Houston Rockets 116-76 in 2005.

Dallas will face the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference final.

After falling behind 2-0 and 3-2 in the series, Dallas won the final two games by an average of 30 points.

Patrick Beverley expressed his admiration for Slovenian wunderkind Luka Doncic.

Ahead of vital Game 7 between the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns, Beverley was asked: "Who you got?"

Minnesota Timberwolves' defensive cornerstone was clear: "Luka Doncic and Dallas Mavericks".

"I got to go with Luka, who I faced last year. I got to, the boy was cookin' me. He has played in Game 7. Besides Chris Paul, I do not think anyone on the roster has played Game 7 (for the Suns). Obviously, JaVale McGee but no one for sure in the starting lineup. I have to go with Luka, he has been playing well and Dallas has been on a roll," Beverley spoke.

Last year, Mavs lost in the playoffs' first round against the Los Angeles Clippers with Beverley in the squad for the second consecutive season in seven games.

Doncic had great series, averaging 35.7 points, 10.3 assists, and 7.9 rebounds.