Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic took a premature exit in his team’s 113-106 loss against the New Orleans Pelicans. Despite willing his way to play in the midst of the pain from a left thigh sprain, the superstar left the game in just the third frame of the Wednesday bout.
Ending the night with 15 markers and eight assists, Doncic revealed in post-game that he is set to take an MRI, further noting that the thigh injury has been on his side just two games after the All-Star break.
“I think it was the second game after the All-Star break,” Doncic said, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN. “Something like that.”
Doncic and the Mavs played the San Antonio Spurs for their second game in post-All-Star festivities wherein they won in a sparkling 143-116 duel.
Before taking a leave against the Pels, Doncic tried to drain a side jumper but bricked it. Following the sequence, he was already seen in pain while jogging, forcing the club to announce him out at 2:29 in the third frame.
Doncic highlighted that his thigh injury affects his jump shot the most, as the offensive move needs jumping of legs to operate.
“Just getting my rhythm. Running. I can feel it mostly on the jump shots because you need both legs. So pushing off has been really hard for me.”
Jason Kidd also noticed that his superstar has been dealing with pain, and he can only hope that Doncic will be back soon and take his time to recover.
“Yeah, I think we all can see he is not moving well,” Kidd said. “Shooting, defense, it’s affecting everything. He’s trying to fight through it and help his teammates, but he had to leave there. Hopefully it’s not something serious. We have a couple days here before we play Memphis, so hopefully he’s back soon.”
