Mavs' Luka Doncic is EVISCERATED by ESPN's Brian Windhorst for 'unacceptable' effort in Game 3 loss to Celtics: 'He is a hole on the court'

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If Luka Doncic wanted sympathy after fouling out of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks star wasn't getting the slightest from ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

'I thought that it was perfect that Luka fell onto the ground there in an unacceptable position to put himself in with four minutes left and five fouls,' a sarcastic Windhorst said after the Mavericks fell into a 3-0 Finals hole with a 106-99 loss to the visiting Boston Celtics. 'And then [Doncic] immediately looks over at the bench and says ''You better bleeping challenge [the foul].'' As if it's the bench's fault that he just made a terrible play.'

Windhorst was admonishing Doncic for his sixth and final foul, which came with 4:12 remaining. Boston would finish the night on a 13-9 run to move within one win of the team's 18th NBA title.

But it wasn't just Doncic's six costly fouls that drew Windhorst's ire. Speaking courtside with SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt via satellite from Dallas' American Airlines Center, Windhorst ripped the 25-year-old Slovenian for an 'unacceptable' defensive effort.

'His defensive performance is unacceptable,' Windhorst said. 'He is a hole on the court. The Celtics are attacking him. They are ahead in this series because they have attacked him defensively.'

ESPN's Briand Windhorst did not have any sympathy for Luka Doncic after Game 3 

Doncic talks with an official after a play against the Boston Celtics during the fourth quarter

Exacerbating issues for Doncic and the Mavs was his worsening habit of complaining to officials.

In one first-quarter sequence, for example, Doncic missed a step-back 3-pointer before appearing to talk to officials as Celtics star Jayson Tatum easily found teammate Sam Hauser at the other end for an open 3-pointer.

It was one of several such instances for Doncic on Wednesday night.

'And you've got a situation here where is complaining about the officiating,' Windhorst continued, before suggesting that has been a recurring problem within the Mavs' locker room. 'They have begged him, they have talked with him, they have pleaded with him. He is costing his team because of how he is treating the officials.'

Windhorst did not write off Doncic entirely. He stressed that the former third-overall draft pick 'does so many things well' and credits him for propelling Dallas to the NBA Finals: 'They are here because of how he did.'

But to Windhorst, and many NBA fans around the country, it was Doncic who was to blame for Dallas' Game 3 loss.

'His performance in this game is unacceptable, and the reason the Mavericks are not gonna win,' Windhorst continued.

'I'm standing here in the Mavericks tunnel. Over there is the Celtics tunnel. That's where the winners are. If Luka is ever gonna be a winner coming out of this tunnel here, he is gonna have to use what happened in this Finals as a learning experience.'

Doncic reacts after a play against the Boston Celtics during the third quarter on Wednesday

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Windhorst was speaking well after the final buzzer on Wednesday, by which point Doncic had already criticized the officiating to reporters.

'You know, six fouls in the NBA Finals, basically I'm like this,' Doncic said while gesturing with his palms facing upward. 'Come on, man. Be better than that.'

Windhorst was unimpressed.

'He has gotta get over this,' the veteran NBA reporter said. 'And the fact that he came out after the game and blamed the officials showed me he is nowhere close yet.

'So maybe over the summer, somebody will get to him. Because nobody with the Mavericks or anybody else in his life has. That's where the Mavericks are at this point.'

The Mavericks outscored the Celtics by nine points while Doncic was on the court in Game 3, but struggled while he was on the bench with foul trouble. 

Doncic’s night was exacerbated by a poor shooting performance as he missed six of seven attempts from beyond the arc.