Luka Doncic: What to expect from the Mavericks star at the Western Conference Finals

The last time Steph Curry held the NBA trophy aloft in 2018, Luka Doncic was a 19-year-old kid who had just landed in the United States. The Slovenian had been signed that summer for the draft by the Atlanta Hawks and was immediately traded to the Dallas Mavericks. Four years later, Curry and Doncic are to meet in the Western Conference Finals. The encounter between the two stars will see a clash between a legendary veteran and one of the figures singled out as the future of the NBA. The Boy Wonder is coming of age.

Used to being hailed a genius even when he was a teen, Doncic, who was born in Ljubljana in 1999, has an uphill battle ahead of him as point guard against Golden State, which holds a 3-0 series lead with the next game in Dallas on Tuesday, May 24. In Curry’s team, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green pulled on experience in the second half of Friday’s game and turned the tables with the Mavericks’ defense then letting a 19-point lead slip away. “We’re going to believe until the end,” said the Slovenian, who scored 43 points in the second encounter. On Sunday’s game, Golden State took advantage of their momentum and seized a 3-0 series lead.

Before Friday’s game, there was concern in the Dallas camp as Doncic had suffered a bad night after Game 1 on May 18 in which Dallas was beaten 112-87, wrestling with sleeping and gastric problems. On Friday, he confessed that he was also feeling some pain in his right shoulder, although he insisted that it was “nothing serious.”

The disadvantage is not insurmountable for Doncic, who has led Dallas in the playoffs for three straight years. The Mavericks beat the Warriors three games out of four in the regular season. Besides, Game 7 against the Phoenix Suns, which is the top