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Video of the crowd:
7-point loss for Panathinaikos today was their biggest home loss this season.
I don't mean to harp on this for more than it's worth, and to be clear I do realize Doncic has played a muted role overall in these two games. But it was really encouraging to see him step up in clutch time in this atmosphere.
Previously, while he'd always talked the talk, he hadn't walked the walk in moments like this. In last year's Euroleague playoffs he was held scoreless and benched for the 4th quarter of Real's elimination loss. In last year's ACB league playoffs he was benched after just 8 minutes of play in Real's elimination loss. In the Eurobasket final he was having an underwhelming game when he tweaked his ankle in the 3rd quarter and never came back in. In the Copa Del Rey final this year he had a very rough game in an upset loss to rival Barca.
So I wasn't feeling super optimistic when, with 2:15 left, Doncic exhausted from playing the entire second half, and his team clinging to a 2-point, he went ISO at the top of the key against a pretty long and athletic defender in Payne. Frankly, I expected him to turn it over, and I expected Panathinaikos to tie the game on a transition dunk and ride that momentum to a win and a commanding 2-0 lead in the 5-game series. And I might have forgiven him for it and kept him at the top of my board (after all, the top teenage NCAA prospects folded like cheap lawn chairs in the tourney), but I would've been seriously worried about his ability to play his best in the biggest moments.
But instead of turning it over, he broke down Payne, got into the paint, and created an open corner 3 with one of his signature no-look passes. After that he dove headfirst into the seats trying to save a ball going out of bounds, came up with a fairly straightforward but critical steal on the next possession, and hit nothing but net on four straight free throws to ice the game. Looked every bit the part of a rising superstar silencing a raucous crowd of nearly 20,000.
I think it's important to remember that he's still basically a kid playing against a lot of very tough, grown-ass men. It will be an invaluable experience for him, but I'm not surprised that -- at his age -- he's still not consistent against that kind of competition.