Luka Doncic on Kyrie Irving: 'I'm letting him down'

Luka Doncic registered a triple-double in the Mavericks' 116-111 loss to the Clippers on Sunday, but those who watched the game know that he couldn't put his imprint on the game like he usually does. The Slovenian star went 1-of-9 from three and 10-of-24 overall and had trouble guarding James Harden, who cooked the Mavericks with 15 fourth-quarter points to steer Los Angeles to victory.

Despite Doncic's struggles, the Mavs took a 105-104 lead with 2:15 left when Kyrie Irving made a miraculous shot against three Clippers defenders. It was Irving's spectacular 40-point performance that helped Dallas overcome a 31-point deficit and nearly seize a 3-1 series lead.

After the game, Doncic admitted he needs to step up his game to ensure Irving's heroics don't go in vain.

"I just got to help him more," Doncic told reporters. "I feel like I'm letting him down, I gotta be there and help him more. He's given everything he has. He's been amazing for us the whole series. When [he plays great], it makes things easy for me. I gotta take advantage of that. It makes my life easier that he's on the court."

In the four games thus far, Irving is averaging 28.8 points at efficient .513/.485/.905 shooting splits. In comparison, Doncic is at .386/.265/.806 shooting splits for his 29.0 points per game. Both guards have been blitzed by the Clippers defense but the latter has faced more double teams for the most part. 

Doncic has also been given a tough time by Terrance Mann, who has held him to 4-of-22 shooting as the primary defender. 

The Mavs clearly need a lot more from Doncic to win the series, which shifts back to Los Angeles for Game 5 on Wednesday.