Approaching his 25th birthday, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic could not have received a worse present than the one Max Strus and the Cleveland Cavaliers gave him — being on the losing end of a 59-foot game-winning buzzer beater, the second-farthest walk-off shot in NBA history. But Doncic, showing the mettle of a 15-year veteran, knows better than to let the results of yesterday affect how he approaches today.
A day after the Mavericks experienced a defeat in the most heartbreaking way possible, Doncic and company took care of business against the Toronto Raptors, claiming a 136-125 victory despite being on the second night of a back-to-back. For the Slovenian superstar, knowing how fast the calendar flips in the lengthy grind of the NBA regular season allows him to spend “zero” time thinking about Strus’ absurd game-winner for the Cavaliers last night.
“The beauty of the NBA is you get another chance the next day. Obviously back-to-backs are tough, but you’ve just got to keep on going,” Doncic said, via Brad Townsend of Dallas Morning News.
In quite the literal sense, the Mavericks, indeed, got another chance to get back into winning ways in the very next day after suffering a gut-wrenching defeat. The regular season stops for no one, so it makes no sense for Luka Doncic and the rest of the Mavs roster to dwell on something that has already passed.
