Dallas Mavericks superstar guard Kyrie Irving expressed support for teammate Luka Dončić following a frustrating 106-99 loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday.

Dončić was second on the team in scoring with 27 points and also contributed six assists and six rebounds, but he shot just 11-of-27 from the field and 1-of-7 from three-point range, and he fouled out with just over four minutes remaining.

Speaking to reporters after the game (beginning at the 8:25 mark), Irving said the following when asked how he intended to interact with a clearly disheartened Dončić:

"You just got to let it breathe a little bit. Let the human emotions come out. Just give him a hug. That's it, man. It's easy to point the finger at just him, say, 'You could be better.' That's easy to say. I think he knows that. But, yeah, it's reiterating that I have his back, we all have his back."

When Dončić fouled out, it came at a crucial time, as Dallas had shrunk a 21-point deficit all the way down to three. Dončić demanded that the call be challenged, but it was unsuccessful.

The five-time All-Star was highly critical of the officiating after the game, saying: "We couldn't play physical. I don't know. I don't want to say nothing. ... You know, six fouls in the NBA Finals ... Come on, man. Be better than that."

With Wednesday's loss, the Mavericks are now down 3-0 in the series, which has been an insurmountable deficit over the course of NBA history.

A team has never come back to win a series after going down 3-0 in the NBA playoffs, so it will take an all-time performance for Irving, Dončić and the Mavs to turn things around.

Although the Finals have been a struggle for Dončić thus far, there is no question that the Mavericks wouldn't have gotten this far without him.

He averaged a league-leading 33.9 points per game during the regular season and finished third in the NBA MVP voting, and in the playoffs as a whole, he is averaging 28.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and 8.4 assists per contest.

The Mavs need Dončić to play at that level the rest of the way, but they also need him to be more disciplined in order to have a chance.

Dallas will look to stay alive in the NBA Finals on Friday when it hosts Boston in Game 4.