Dallas built its team’s identity around Luka Doncic, on the court and off. Now that he’s gone, some supporters no longer feel a connection to the franchise.

Doncic, who had dragged an otherwise unremarkable Mavericks team through the Western Conference, became the face of their failure. Dallas coach Jason Kidd was forced to come out and defend his maligned star, even though without Doncic, the Mavericks were a faded Kyrie Irving and a bunch of role players.

Before the game, Doncic was interviewed by TNT, who asked if he had a response to the “chatter” that has come out of Dallas since the blockbuster trade, namely concerns about his weight and conditioning. Doncic was quick to dismiss them.