Luka Doncic addressed the final play in Los Angeles’ 110-109 defeat to Orlando, saying, “I just saw him open. I didn’t want to lose the ball. We’re going to have timeouts, you know, but by the second shouldn’t have picked up the ball. Should have taken it, I thought he was getting open.”
On the late-game sequence, Doncic admitted, “I know I was open but I just thought I was a little bit far, tried to take one dribble closer and probably should have picked up the ball just trying to attack.”
Reflecting on Orlando’s comeback, he said, “Obviously the last two possessions they get a three up, I think two, they get a three and then the loose ball on the rebound. They kind of executed down the stretch better than us.”
On the Lakers’ 4-4 homestand, Doncic emphasized consistency, stating, “We just got to be more consistent. I think we should have won a couple more games. We just got to be more consistent.”
Comparing his mindset to his first year in the league, Doncic said, “Just the same mindset, you know, first year obviously I was trying to learn about the NBA, how you play, just same mind, always trying to win games.”
Regarding roster health and team chemistry, he added, “Like I said, there’s been a couple games that we should have won. Today was a tie game. We didn’t execute at the end. But we could have won that game today.”
Doncic finished with a focus on growth, saying, “Keep working. There’s been a couple games that we should have won. We just need to be more consistent and execute better down the stretch.”
