MY ACCOUNT
Luka Doncic limped off the court during the Dallas Mavericks’ 130-120 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, leaving him in doubt to start the Mavs’ playoff series against the Utah Jazz.
The two-time All-Star left the court with 2:24 remaining in the third quarter, injuring his calf during an offensive possession. He quickly grabbed at his injured calf and asked for the Mavs bench to call a timeout.
The 23-year-old was originally suspended from playing Sunday’s game, before the NBA rescinded his 16th technical foul of the season, which he received in Friday’s win over the Portland Trailblazers.
Doncic was diagnosed with a left calf strain after leaving the court with Mavs director of athletic performance Casey Smith, and did not return to the game.
“We’ll know more tomorrow,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said of Doncic post-game. “They were going to [get] their normal run the second half because it’s a week [before the first game against Utah]. So we just felt we’d keep the regular rotation and they’d be done by the third quarter and go from there.
“I thought he was cramping up, but I haven’t talked to Casey. Hopefully it’s not too serious.
“But with that being said, injuries are a part of the game. We’ll see how he feels. The good news is that we have won home court and we have a week before we play.”
Before leaving the floor, Doncic had put up 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in just 29 minutes.
With the Golden State Warriors also defeating the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday and rendering the Mavs game inconsequential to playoff placings in the Western Conference, Jason Kidd’s side still needed to hold up their end of the bargain.
On the prospect of the matchup with the Jazz, Kidd asserted it will not be an easy series, whether Doncic is on the floor or not.
“It’s going to be interesting,” he said. “They’re well coached. They [have] got All-Stars, and they’ve been together for a while.
“They’ve been through a lot of playoff games together. This is going to be a great test for us. It should be a tough series.”
