Three-pointers went in and out, and short jumpers rolled off the rim. In the NBA Finals game that decided the series, Luka Doncic struggled even with free throws.

To defeat the Celtics in Game 5, Dallas needed Kyrie Irving and Doncic to perform at their highest level on Monday night. Rather, the Mavericks’ greatest players had a dismal first half, and by the time their baskets started to fall, the Celtics were winning 106-88 and capturing an NBA record 18 titles.

Irving remarked, “Failing at this stage definitely sucks,” as the Celtics celebrated in the next locker room. It is a bittersweet feeling because you want to keep playing and believe that the shots you need to make in the following game will come up, along with your greatest performance.

“We failed even though we made it to the top of the mountain. Thus, we must now begin at the bottom, which ought to be motivating,” he remarked. “It will be a long summer, but looking forward to the start of next season now.”

Doncic shot 12 of 25 from the field after missing his first six 3-point attempts; Dallas was already behind by 21 points when he finally connected. Ten of his 28 points came in the fourth quarter, when Dallas was never within eighteen points.

Despite pulling down 12 rebounds, he turned the ball over seven times. He struggled at the free throw line all during the series, going just 2 for 5 from there.

After his fifth-seeded club was denied its second NBA title, Dallas coach Jason Kidd observed, “It just was not our night offensively.” Our team is young. This is an exciting moment to be a Mavs supporter and coach since we have a young core.

The Slovenian celebrity said that his left ankle, right knee, and injured chest were not the cause of the issue.

“Whether or not I was harmed, how much hurt does not matter. “I was outside,” he declared. “I did not play enough, but I tried to play.”

Irving finished 5 of 16 overall and 3 for 9 from three-point range. Despite having nine assists, he scored fifteen points, six of which came in the fourth quarter, when the game was already decided.

“I look at it as an opportunity for us to observe what we did well this year as a group and how me and Luka can be better as the leaders of the team,” he said. “You do not want to take the disappointment of a finals failure into the next season or into eternity. We worked extremely hard to be one of the final two teams. While we did not quite meet our objective, we did come close. We merely need to return to this final stage, and we are aware that it will not be simple.

The Boston supporters, who were still upset that Irving chose to forego his Celtics contract in 2019, were delighted by Irving’s defeat and jeered him each time he touched the ball. Irving, who admitted this week that the crowd had a “psychological edge” over him, averaged 14.3 points in the three games in Boston and 28 in the two in Dallas.

“Whatever the fans want to chant, they can. When we’re away, they’re obviously going to go against us,” Dallas guard Josh Green said. “He does a great job of not letting it affect him and I think that goes back to his leadership on and off the court.

“So we have nothing but respect for Kyrie. … We all got his back, for sure.”

Irving and Doncic shared a hug at the end of the game.

“We said, ‘We’ll fight together next season,’ and we (are) just going to believe,” Doncic said. “I’m proud of every guy that stepped on the floor, all the coaches, all the people behind. Obviously, we didn’t win finals, but we did have a hell of a season and I’m proud of every one of them.”