Dallas Mavericks speak after falling short to Boston Celtics [PRESS CONFERENCE] | 2024 NBA Finals

Dallas Mavericks speak after falling short to Boston Celtics [PRESS CONFERENCE] | 2024 NBA Finals

let’s go to the let’s go to the middle Luka um you know can you put your feelings in the words obviously tough loss but you guys really had a great season and I know it’s not easy to think about right now but just what’s going through your head right now nothing said we lost nothing specific Luka you know now the series is over uh how how how much were you hurting it doesn’t matter if I was hurt uh how much was I heard uh I was out there uh tried to play uh but I didn’t do enough let’s go Tim in the front and Luke obviously it’s fresh right now but so much has changed with this organization since the end of last season um you know your first Finals appearance how do you feel about kind of the the state of the franchise now and and the opportunities going into the future for this uh this group I feel great uh we did some great moves uh um I would say you know we’ve been together for 5 months uh I’m I’m proud of any of every every guy that’s up on the floor all the coaches all the people behind uh obviously we didn’t win finals but uh we did have a hell of a season and I’m proud of every one of them third r on the right Eddie look uh what did uh the uh Celtics defense do that made things so difficult for you guys to score uh they were physical a lot they have great Defenders and they just it was not more one-on-one or help or closing out what just everything uh they’re a great team that’s what they do uh there’s a quick turnaround time before the Olympic qualifying tournament uh what do you uh I want to talk about what’s next man I have some decisions some decisions to make uh just trying to get a little bit healthier uh we’ll talk we have interviews in two days right uh so I’ll give you an answer then any other questions Steve right behind you Steve ashar nba.com Luca what do you take away from this that will help your team get back here next year ideally and and win it next time is there any particular takeaways from being in the finals uh right now I don’t I don’t really know that’s not what I’m thinking but you know uh they’re great team they’ve been together for a long time uh and they had to go through everything uh so we just got to look at them uh see how they play uh maturity and they have some great players you know we can all learn from that and you know we got to fight next season Mike in the front Mike Curtis Dallas Morning News Luke I saw you and Kyrie had a moment of embrace there at the end of the game just interested what can you share about the conversation you guys had just uh stay together man uh I think uh just having Kai on on my team I mean on our team uh is unbelievable you know uh just helping you know we said we’ll fight together next season uh and we’re just going to believe any other questions thanks all right let’s start with Dwayne right here in the second row please say your name in affiliation Dwayne price.com Josh was there anything in particular the Celtics were doing on the defensive end that prevented you guys from being able to score a lot of points tonight I mean they you know they just they came out aggressive man and um you know they are good defensively they’re a great defensive team um you know respect to them and respect the coaches for their defensive scheme now that the season is over what what was your take from what you guys were able to accomplish this season I mean it’s been you know a hell of a year and you know I love these guys man like I mean we put this this team you know with trades and everything was you know five months ago and see the growth as a team and you know like it’s it’s different you know like I don’t know you know there’s a lot of international guys and we don’t always have family around and to be able to build a bun like this and to call the team you know family it’s uh it’s awesome and to be able to do that in such a short amount of time is um it’s it’s amazing so I mean obviously we didn’t get you know what we wanted but I’m proud and everyone else is very proud of the team second row on the left Tim Tim KO the athletic I know this is a hard question to ask right after disappointment but it’s you know kind of going off what you just said is this the most fun season that you’ve been a part of yeah yeah I mean I think um yeah it’s fun when everything yeah I mean it’s one through 1550 man like I couldn’t like best teammates man all great guys and all their individual ways so I mean yeah by far man it’s it’s always makes your job a lot better when you when you have fun every day and you know to call those guys my teammate for sure first row Brad yeah Josh Brad towns in Dallas Morning News you see the C they’ve incremented I mean theyve they’ve grown grown grown been to this step and they finally got got overid the hump you guys have been to the Conference Finals two years ago now the NBA Finals what do you think your takeaway will be you know from this final having gotten to this higher stage I mean I think um you know we’ve got we we got here and I think everyone’s hungry now you know it’s it’s uh you know obviously we didn’t get where we wanted to but you know it’s not the end of the world we know that we need to regroup and and be back here again next year I mean that’s it’s a goal every single year and uh yeah first row in the middle hi Josh Joey mrea with clutch points um when you obviously it’s expected the Celtics are going to you know chant Kyrie sucks that kind of thing when you guys hear that um just kind of what’s the message from Jay kid and Kyrie and the Huddle and um how dides you feel a need to respond to that on the court I mean Kyrie does a great job and he’s done a great job from the moment he’s got here being a leader and feed you know and and being someone you know for younger guys but also you know for everyone on the team so I mean obviously it is what it is you know the CR the crowds Can chant you know whatever they want to chant you know whatever when wear away they’re obviously going to go against us so I mean he he does a great job of you know not letting it affect him and I think that goes back to his you know leadership on and off the court so we have nothing but respect for Kyrie and you know we’re not expecting the Celtics to be with us you know we’re opposing them so whatever they say is whatever they say um but we all got his back for sure third round to the left Steve uh Steve ashburner nba.com what’s what’s something that as you look at the series your team might have been able to do better or more consistently to extend it maybe even swing it um just maybe just you know physicality coming out a little you know stronger what not but I don’t know I I really haven’t thought about too much I’m you know I don’t know my head’s all over the place right now first on the right Mike Mike Curtis Dallas Morning News you had your best game of the playoffs tonight and obviously it’s been a up and down season but when you look at the development that you’ve made since the start just how do you kind of reflect on that yeah I mean um I don’t know I just wanted to you know leave it all on the floor tonight um I try to play every game like it’s my loss but I mean it’s what I mean individual like it doesn’t really matter at this stage I mean I I just I really just want to win and like yeah I don’t I don’t know just didn’t win any other questions for Josh thank you hi PJ Joy started with clutch points um I was just wondering if you could obviously it’s tough right now but if you could just put your half season you had with the Mavs kind of a summary into words um I think it’s been great um um uh it’s been good since I got here and I’m just excited to get better in the off season uh and really play a whole season with these guys and uh have at it next year so um I’m super proud of obviously being here and uh we made it far um in the time being but obviously we have work to do Dwayne price in the middle Dwayne price maps.com PJ what happened there at the end of the first and the end of the second quarter you guys were been one point in the first quarter they ended up on a 90 run and then they had a 19 to7 run the end the second quarter uh turnovers um they got in transition and made shots uh they made a lot of Threes um and uh that’s what happened on the right Eddie uh Eddie seom as.com did what made their defense so hard to score against uh you know they seem to always kind of be rotating the right ways um I think uh they try to make us play oneon-one and not help as much um credit to them they did a good job and obviously we’ll learn from it they and be better so um yeah second row Tim Tim G the athletic um you know this half season you had this postseason run is that the most fun you’ve ever had playing basketball yeah most definitely um obviously being able to play on the biggest stages uh in the playoffs has been nothing but amazing and I’m so grateful for the opportunity and obviously can’t wait to get better and uh do it again next year where does where does Improvement come you know from you guys going into next season I guess it’s pretty obvious with you know a pretty young core but is is you know what does what does time mean and time played together mean to this team uh it means everything um we’re still learning each other and I can’t wait to get back at it and um obviously we have a lot of growing to do a lot of maturing and um I think everybody’s hungry obviously so I’m excited for our summer and see where we go first row Mike Mike C Dallas Morning News um Kyrie talked throughout the series about wanting to play well against the Celtics team given the history that they had um just why do you think he wasn’t able to be as successful against his team and what do you think he he’ll learn from it going forward uh I’m not sure I mean um obviously shots weren’t falling for for all of us so um I think we watch it take um take a week can learn from it and obviously uh be better um I think everybody’s hungry like I said earlier so um it won’t be easy or it won’t be hard for us to get better and I think obviously just us playing more with each other is going to be uh great for us as well any other questions for PJ B hey PJ uh you know you guys you talked a lot guys folks here talked you guys being a young team um difficult tonight was what does a you guys as a young team take away from going against a a team that’s been together for seven years on their home court um and hustling like crazy to win the championship um we learned a lot uh throughout the whole series um it’s a chess match at the end of the day so I mean all the little things matter um every little possession every second so um I think like I said guys are going to be hungry and everybody’s going to remember this feeling going forward thank you PJ thank you guys okay first question on the left Bob hey hi coach hey um you guys competed real hard luuka was obviously hurt did you uh get the sense that it’s was the Celtics time I mean they work together for seven years and they of what you want will want to keep building toward with this predominantly young group yeah I think um when you look at their Journey for seven years there’s been ups there’s been learning um you know experiences for them with winning and losing and so um understanding for us um we’ve been together for five months some of us so this is you know a really you know positive Journey that we’ve been on here and uh we’ll look at what we can do as we get to the finals um just understanding we have to play our best basketball unfortunately Boston was better uh than us in this series and they won the championship middle Dwayne Dwayne price.com Jason was there anything in particular that the Celtics did on the defensive being to slow you down slow down your offense yeah we had some great looks there um that just didn’t go down for us Kai has a layup that rims in and out um PJ had great looks just wasn’t our night you know offensively Tim McMan ESP PN Jason when you look at you know what needs to happen for you guys to be able to get over that last hurdle what what are things that staying out to you as far as you know how you can get to that uh take that next step well I think the the first step was just to be in it you know I think that’s a big thing um a lot of us um you know when I say a lot of us excluding the people in the locker room didn’t have us here and so to be able to start the playoffs uh in La uh to start the playoffs in Oklahoma to start the playoffs in um Minnesota um to understand that um that’s not easy to do and uh I thought the group did a great job um yes we lost 4 to one but I thought the group fought uh against the Celtics and just unfortunately we just couldn’t make shots when we had to or we turned the ball over and they took full advantage of that and so um there’s a lot of you know positives in this run that we were on during the playoffs but also you know since March we’ve been playing basketball at a high level so when we go when we go back to look um at some of the stuff uh what we can continue to build on and what we can get better at first on the right Brad Brad towns of Dallas war news speaking of building uh you’ve talked about building a culture here in three years Conference Finals NBA Finals what would you say kind of the the uh the biggest the most important pillars that you feel like you have put in so far yeah I think um that’s a very good point you know we first year we go we lose to to Golden State who becomes the world Champs and then we lose this year to the world Champs in the Boston Celtics so um not a bad run in two out of three years and so um and and that in between those two years we get di live and um and some you know we get trades that makes the team better so um a lot of positive things uh we’re a young team um and so this isn’t a team uh when you look at you know do we have to replace some of the older players it’s you know we have a a a core a young core at that and so this is an exciting time to be a Mavs fan and to also be a coach for the Mavs second roow Tim Tim KO at the athletic uh Chason you know obviously Luca dealt with a lot of injuries throughout this postseason what what can he learn from from this well he’s one of the best players in the world and so um I think the biggest thing for him is that we all you know would like to be healthy um but there’s going to be bumps and bruises uh along the way and so uh for him at the age of 25 to get to the finals uh to be playing his basketball at the level that he’s playing is um now is just you know being consistent and uh I think we all would say he led the league and scoring um and so it also has won um so it’s now it’s just a matter of being consistent and uh again always being in the talk for MVP because when you have one of the best players in the world you you you should be always fighting for a championship last R Howard Howard back from the ringer Jason back here yeah um you touched on a couple of these things but obviously you’re a pretty young team and built around a 25-year-old star you’ve got guys who just arrived as you mentioned a few months ago um at a time like this I know hard to look forward but is the next step in growth is it just you know youth maturing is it just all these guys having more time together Are there specific things that just maybe need to be added but what’s what’s the next evolution of this team or or is is it some of it just Evolution within yeah I think it’s just time you know being able to go through it um to get to to know each other uh a little bit better on the court and off the court and so um I think it’s the more time that these guys are around each other the better they’re going to be next year um again 5 months without a training camp uh this season started in Abu Dhabi um and and has been going on for a long time so uh for this group to uh spend time together uh to fail um and to understand what it feels like to fail and also to see what failure is and then how do we get better and learn from that and that’s uh I think I’ve got a great group of young men who will be hungry this summer and will come back ready to uh to play at a high level last question Eddie third row on the right Eddie SEF gomez.com I think it was 1918 there and and you guys were hadn’t played well up to that point and got the the the early deficit down what happened there when uh you had some empty possessions I think they might have uh had a couple of steel or you guys had a couple of turnovers and and it snow snowballed after that yeah it snowball quickly the turnovers led to you know easy baskets or wide open threes and so they took advantage of that and we couldn’t keep scoring or keep Pace with them um we got good looks that just didn’t go down for us thank you coach hey Kyrie Joey MRE with clutch points um obviously a difficult loss tonight and that goes without saying but I want to ask you about the future you guys have built a great core you and Luca a lot of guys around you how confident are you in this team’s future uh very confident I mean that’s what’s uh uh you know a positive note that we can take from this series uh just how far we made it and um you know how how proud of I am of the guys and um you know we answered a lot of questions this year on on what we were capable of doing and uh now it’s just about being consistent I think you know probably in the last week I said that you know I wanted to be remembered as one of the best teams of this era you know last few Champions have have been a new one each each and every year so um I see an opportunity for us to really build our future in a positive manner where um you know this is almost like a regular thing for us and um we’re competing for championships and um you know that I think uh from a spiritual standpoint I think uh I enjoyed this journey more than any other season uh just because of the Redemption Arc and and being able to learn as much as I did uh about myself and my teammates and the organization and the people that I’m around it’s a lot of good people here so uh it makes coming to work a lot of fun and uh when you have that type of environment I I think uh you know it’s easy to achieve goals that are bigger than yourself cuz everyone’s really dialed in and having a good sense of Joy about them second row on the left Tim Tim K the athletic uh Kyrie over the past week Luca has talked about um you know failure being something to learn from to to grow from um as a as a 12 year veteran or 32y old veteran um you know how do you how do you actually take failure and and take those lessons and grow from them and not just let it become a a cliche that’s kind of set in these situations um I mean it’s in the summertime it starts you know early in preseason uh when you’re developing your habits and uh I think we went 0 and four in preseason start which wasn’t the best start uh but we got off to a pretty decent start to the season and uh there were some injuries and uh some uncontrollable things that happened but uh I think if you look at the overall big picture luk is right and I’ve been saying it too just failure it can inspire you beyond measure and uh we started off as a fifth seat in this started on the road in every series and we were able to accomplish this and we were able to grow as as teammates and as a Brotherhood here Sisterhood here uh where we can really take that as a positive know into the summer uh so yeah failing at this stage definitely sucks it’s it’s a bitter feeling um because you want to keep playing and you and you feel like your best game is coming up next and the shots that you shoot next game are coming up and now we got to wait I think what two and a half months three and a half months to the new Champion um you know gets a chance yeah so uh I’m grateful for the opportunity to be able to grow with these guys in this locker room um all everybody across our organization um you know we’ve been able to um celebrate our our wins but also learn how to celebrate our losses to and how to grow from that so that that’s a difficult part of Being Human when you really love something you really want to win and it doesn’t happen um how do you respond from that so I think that’s where we are now um but I think I could tell you I’m pretty confident that we’ll we’ll be back in the gym pretty soon and getting ready for next year on the right Tim Tim MC H ESPN uh before you checked out for the last time you know you go you hug a lot of the your old teammates the other guys on the Celtics as you’re walking back to the bench there what what’s going through your mind and you obviously at the end of what was a pretty emotional series for you yeah it was it was emotional anyway I mean every series was emotional um just because I was just uncertain on how it was going to go and and how we were going to respond to a little bit of adversity uh we finally ran into a team where um you know they beat us fair and square and we weren’t able to respond to a lot of their runs and we weren’t able to uh execute at a high level so uh when I was shaking everybody’s hands that was more of a sign of respect uh for their Journey they’ve been through an incredible 5year span of going to game sevens or losing in the finals uh so they they know what this bitter feeling feels like being up here and answering questions about what this next year hold and I think they used everything as motivation uh they were healthy and uh they really kept their head down and weren’t paying attention to any of the personal accolades or individual accolades I think they just came together as a team and were okay with each person being great in their role and um selflessly putting their best foot forward so I think we learned U more than anything from this series on uh what it takes to not only get back to this level but win at this level and um you know the Celtics are the perfect example for us um this season because of how much they’ve had to deal with in the past few years so it’s admirable you know and and to see did JB win Finals MVP yeah that was that was big time to see that trophy in his hands I I think him and J should have split it but um you know those two guys in particular have um you know almost been like students and as well now becoming teachers in their own right so to see them accomplish see them accomplish that I’m really proud um you know and also extremely motivated to get back to this position in the next few years uh with my guys and be able to win this thing Mike Curtis Mike Curtis Dallas Morning News Kyrie you talked about wanting to play well against the Celtics team um your moot motivated obviously but when it comes to how you perform was it more of them defensively they were pressing a lot or was it you had a lot of shots that went in came out those uncharacteristic um just shots what what do you attribute it to most I mean basketball is a game of Center Meers man sometimes interest so when the ball’s flying off your hand sometimes it’s going to feel good sometimes it isn’t and uh yeah that’s the maturity aspect you got to be able to move on to the next thing and I’ve been talking about that and uh whether I’m playing well specifically uh scoring wise or I’m not there’s a team aspect here that we’re becoming more jelled into or t dialed into you know I can score 25 points but if I don’t then we got to be able to pick each other up and I think that’s what we’re learning about each other now where they’re going to be games where the shooting is not going to go well particularly for me or someone else on the team and that’s where we have to Galvanize as a group and other players make plays and opportunities created for one another um I’ve been at the point of attack through most of my drives going against the Celtics one-on-one or um you know coming off screen so uh that’s what the summer is for is just continuing to work on those things that I saw this year uh the physicality being able to adjust to it and you know by next year be in a better position Howard in the back Howard back from the ringer Kyrie uh two quick thoughts uh one is just the this is a team that’s still pretty new to each other pieces that just came in in February a lot of Youth as well is the next step of evolution just simply guys being together longer gaining that experience and then uh second kind of separate thought but you’ve been through this before both the loss and and the win at this level Luca has not he seemed pretty down when he was in here do you have a sense of what he’s going through right now yeah what was your first question just about about the time together Youth and a lot of new guys I I would agree with that yeah just time together uh means a lot and uh failing together is uh not the ideal situation but uh from a leadership standpoint going through situations like that some times it it will it’ll motivate you beyond things that you could imagine and um you know when I was a little bit younger and and I was injured in 2015 and we lost it was a team loss it wasn’t just I was injured and we could have done this or that so that went on my finals record I was on one and then the next year we came back and won in in a 3-1 comeback and then the following year we lost against the Warriors and I haven’t been back since so um you know I look at it as uh you know opportunity for us to observe what we did well this year as a group and how me and Lucan could be better as the leaders of the team one of you know few of the leaders on the team and really just enjoy um you know the ups and downs of what’s coming because now we know what to expect so this this past year was a lot of newness it was a lot of people being in new positions in terms of just the success um success could be new for a lot of people too but when you fail um at the finals it’s it’s not something that uh you you want to carry the disappointment forever or on to next season we worked extremely hard to be one of the final two teams um we didn’t achieve our goal but we achieved most of our goals so um this is just the last step that we have to get back to and we know it’s not going to be easy we’re going to go against a lot of young teams that are emerging um but we’re going to get better as well and I think this experience will carry us forth um in the in the following series that we play next year God willing we make it back to the playoffs and and get the chance to play our best basketball last question fourth row on the right Kyrie to Arley with clutch points um you were here when when when Jaylen started his career here with Tatum as well um when they’re going through you know what they’re going through playoff failures and all that uh everyone’s saying break them up can they do it um just how have you seen them grow um from day one when you were here uh all the way to to who they are now um well they don’t really care if one’s better than the other considered and they they just want to win yeah I mean it’s easy to get to that point when um you know you have no other choice but to look at your partner or your teammates and say that we’re going to do this and we’re going to accomplish it no matter what anyone says um the hardest thing I would say one of the most difficult things not the hardest thing but one of the most difficult things in this industry is um you know as I’ve been in for 12 years is um dealing with a lot of the relationship with um you know sort of say social media or fans and media and then us as players and wanting to achieve a a golden Legacy sort of say you know everybody looks at MJ as the prototypical guy he was 6 and0 then you go down the list to Bill r Russell and and you know other great guys that have come through this leag I I can name a myriad of names but uh for those guys in particular uh I think they have had the same trajectory or career path as some of the greatest to play the game where they’ve lost early in their career and now they’re at the the top of the mountain because they’ve earned their way there and they’ve been able to learn so again I’m I’m nothing short of proud of those guys um but I think uh this was a message to my teammates as well um that when we get this opportunity you know God willing we get this opportunity and we work hard um it it’s going to be more than just our talent that’s going to get us over the edge and it’s going to be more than just somebody scoring 30 it’s going to be more it’s going to take more than just um scoring it’s going to take everything from you and um you know that that’s what makes this thing beautiful too is when you get to the top of that mountain how do you stay motivated there and now that they’re there I think those are questions that are going to have to answer for themselves but for us we got to the top of mountain and we failed so now we have to start at the bottom and uh that should be inspiring so um grateful that I love what I do grateful that I get to do it with people that love what they do too so um be a long summer but uh looking forward to the start of next season now thank you krie [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]

The Dallas Mavericks speak postgame after falling short to the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals, losing 4-1 in the series.

0:00 Luka Doncic
3:34 Josh Green
8:13 P.J. Washington
12:03 Jason Kidd
16:16 Kyrie Irving

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