Luka Dončić Takes Blame for Loss to Nuggets, Says Mavs Would've Lost by 30 Last Year

Luka Dončić put the blame on himself after the Dallas Mavericks suffered their first loss of the season to the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets on Friday night.

The four-time All-Star cited "my turnovers and defensive rebounds" as what lost Dallas the game, though he did put a positive spin on how the team was able to remain competitive compared to how this type of game would have gone last season.

Coming into the game as one of only two remaining undefeated teams, the Mavericks were overwhelmed right out of the gate against the Nuggets en route to a 125-114 defeat.

Denver put up 40 points in the first quarter and had a 70-55 lead going into halftime. Nikola Jokić had a field day against the Mavs defense with 33 points on 14-of-16 shooting, 14 rebounds and nine assists.

Dončić had a sloppy performance for the second consecutive game. He did have 34 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, but his nine turnovers were a season high. The Mavs were outrebounded 51-34 overall, including a 19-10 disadvantage on the offensive glass.

This came two days after Dončić had his worst scoring game of the season against the Chicago Bulls. He dropped 18 points on just 5-of-16 shooting with 10 assists, seven rebounds and six turnovers, but the Mavericks were able to get a 114-105 win.

There's no real cause for alarm with Dončić having back-to-back rough games. He's got an extensive body of work to know it won't take long for him to rebound.

Friday was the first time this season that Dallas has played a viable title contender. It wasn't a great showing for the team, but the Nuggets have made most of their opponents look out of sorts so far in the 2023-24 campaign.