Experts Rip Luka Doncic's Defense After Suns' Chris Paul, Devin Booker Own Game 2

Luka Doncic scored a game-high 35 points for the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, but the superstar wasn't able to keep his team from falling into an 0-2 hole against the Phoenix Suns.

Chris Paul and Devin Booker combined for 58 points in a 129-109 Game 2 win at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, with Paul especially taking over late against Doncic:

It led to a lot of criticism on Doncic's defense as he struggled on that end of the court:

The numbers also weren't kind to Doncic.

Phoenix scored 1.81 points per possession in the 19 plays against Doncic as the screened defender, per Second Spectrum tracking (h/t ESPN's Tim MacMahon). It's the worst mark for any single defender in the past three seasons with at least 15 opportunities. 

"I've just got to play better defense," Doncic told reporters after the game. "That’s it."

The 23-year-old isn't necessarily known for his effort on that end of the court, finishing this past season with a 6.4 offensive box plus-minus compared to just 1.8 defensively. Head coach Jason Kidd indicated it's on the rest of the team to do more.

"We need to do a better job of helping him," Kidd said after the game.

It was mostly a one-man show offensively as well, with Doncic one of just three players in double figures for the Mavericks. Jalen Brunson was held to just nine points on 3-of-12 shooting in the loss.

This led to an easy win for Phoenix, with Paul notably taking over late:

Unless the Mavericks figure out a way to contain Paul, this series will be over quickly.