Stephen A. Smith & Brian Windhorst blame Luka Dončić for Mavericks loss

After the Dallas Mavericks’ latest loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, everyone is looking for a scapegoat. And it sounds like Stephen A. Smith is placing the blame on star Luka Dončić.

After Wednesday night’s loss, the “First Take” team took aim at Dončić and his poor defensive performance which resulted in him fouling out in the closing minutes of the game as his team was mounting a comeback.

Stephen A. Smith said  Luka should take “most of the blame” for the loss, saying “it was because of the level of selfishness and the lack of accountability. … He’s pointing the finger at everybody but himself.”

.@stephenasmith says Luka deserves "most of the blame" for the Game 3 loss.

"lt was because of the level of selfishness and the lack of accountability. … He's pointing the finger at everybody but himself." pic.twitter.com/BISK2BsyqY

— First Take (@FirstTake) June 13, 2024

But NBA Insider Brian Windhorst went even harder on Dončić. Windy called Luka’s performance “unacceptable.”

“If Luka’s ever gonna be a winner coming out of this tunnel here, he is gonna have to use what has happened in this Finals as a learning experience,” Windhorst said. “His defensive performance is unacceptable.”

"If Luka’s ever gonna be a winner … he’s gonna have to use [this Finals] as a learning experience."@WindhorstESPN had this to say about Luka after fouling out in Dallas' Game 3 loss. pic.twitter.com/8sbrfBX4bx

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 13, 2024

He said that Dončić ending up on the floor fouling out basically summed up his defensive play the whole night despite scoring 27 points.

If the Mavs want any chance of surviving Game 4, he has to play harder defensively.

{First Take, Sportscenter}