Mavs coach Kidd: Doncic is 'not a robot'

Jason Kidd reminded the media that Luka Doncic is "not a robot" after the Dallas Mavericks star turned in a peculiar display against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Doncic delivered his best performance of the playoffs on Wednesday, finishing with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a 104-92 victory.

The Mavericks are now just one win away from the Western Conference finals.

But what was different about Doncic's night was the fact he rarely remonstrated with the officials, having previously expanded a lot of energy doing just that in Game 4 of the series.

"He's human; he's not a robot," Kidd said.

"Sometimes we just pencil in that he's going to put in 30, 10 and 10. You know the playoffs are hard mentally and physically.

"Before the game, understand you are not going to get any calls on the road. You got to understand you got to play through it."

For Doncic, it was a case of just focusing on what he could control.

"Just focus on basketball," Doncic said. "Remember the thing I love, the thing I love to do. Just play basketball.

"I talked to them [the officials] normally, without complaining.

"I think it was the whole game, nothing. So I just go out there and hoop. Have fun, have fun. It was the old Luka, a smile on my face."

Just playin’ basketball. @luka7doncic // #OneForDallas #MFFL pic.twitter.com/zscDPgvzld

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) May 16, 2024

Doncic's teammate Derrick Jones Jr suggested the Slovenian's sharpness in the warm-up told him all he needed to know about what was to come.

"I was just sitting back saying, 'It's going to be a long day for them,'" Jones said.

"Once he gets his rhythm and he's got it going, you can't stop him."

Kyrie Irving believes Doncic can take lessons from his Game 5 performance.

"I think he can learn from this tonight as well as all of us and just continue to affirm to himself that when he is focused on just his game and he's focused on doing the right things, then we flourish as a team," he said.

"I'm not going to sit up here and complain about him. I'm not going to do that.

"I've got to give my brother a little benefit of the doubt. Sometimes it is warranted to get on the guys that are refereeing the game, but I think he found a healthy balance tonight where he was just really focused on getting us going offensively and making the right plays and making sure that we kept our foot on the gas pedal."