'I'm still learning' - Mavs' Luka Doncic reflective after scoring 40 points in Game 3 loss to Warriors

DALLAS — Superstar Luka Doncic, moments after his Dallas Mavericks were pushed to the brink of elimination in the Western Conference finals, viewed the situation through a long-term lens.

Doncic scored a game-high 40 points in Sunday's 109-100 loss to the Golden State Warriors, including 21 while the Mavs attempted to mount a fourth-quarter comeback that never gained much steam. He also, however, had the game's worst plus-minus, as Dallas was outscored by 19 points in Doncic's 40 minutes on the floor, with the Warriors continuing to have success targeting him on the defensive end.

Doncic, whose team is now 2-6 when he scores 40 or more points in a playoff game in his career, accepted accountability for the loss that put the Mavs in jeopardy of being swept in the franchise's first conference finals appearance since the 2011 championship run.

«I'm still learning,» said Doncic, who also had 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. «I think the first two quarters, I played very bad. That's on me. But I'm still learning. I think after this season is done, whatever we are, I think we're going to look back and learn a lot of things.

»It's my first time in the conference finals in the NBA. I'm 23, man. I'm still learning a lot."

Doncic became just the sixth player in NBA history to lose both games while recording consecutive 40-point playoff games, according to ESPN Stats & Information, joining some exclusive company: Devin Booker, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Jerry West.

It's a list that Doncic wishes didn't include him. Nor did he want to join Golden State legend Rick Barry as, according to Elias Sports Bureau, the only players to suffer losses in four consecutive 40-plus-point playoff performances.

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