Luka Dončić Says Mavs 'Couldn't Play Physical' After Fouling Out in Loss to Celtics

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić fouled out with just over four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night's Game 3 loss to the Boston Celtics, putting a halt to his team's attempt to come back from a 21-point deficit.

"We couldn't play physical, so... I don't wanna say nothing, but you know," Dončić told reporters when asked what he thought about the fouls called against him in the fourth quarter. "Six fouls in the NBA Finals... come on, man."

The Celtics went up 91-70 when Derrick White hit a three with 11:07 remaining in the game. But the Mavericks went on a 20-2 run from there and were trailing by just three points when Dončić was called for his sixth foul at the 4:12 mark.

The Mavericks challenged the call but it stood, and Dallas was without its best player for the game's final four minutes. It was one of four fouls called on Dončić in the fourth quarter alone.

This has been a tough series for Dončić, who has generally been very good on the offensive end—he's averaging 29.7 points and six assists for the series while shooting 47.3 percent from the field—but has struggled immensely on the defensive end and has looked hobbled by a thoracic contusion, which reportedly required a "pain-killing injection" before Game 2 and potentially Game 3, per ESPN's Tim MacMahon.

Now, the Mavericks find themselves in a 3-0 hole, a deficit that no team in NBA postseason history has ever overcome.

But Dončić isn't conceding defeat just yet.

"It's not over until it's over," he told reporters. "We've just gotta believe. It's first to four, we've just got to stick together. We lose together, we win together, so we just gotta stick together."

It will be pretty tough for the Mavericks to win a single game in this series, however, if Dončić isn't on the court late in the game.