NBA
Luka Doncic knee injury: will he play against the Clippers in Game 4 of the first round?
The Dallas Mavericks star was briefly forced to leave the court during the first quarter of the 2024 NBA Playoffs game.
Luka Doncic bagged a relatively modest 22 points - by his own high standards - in the Dallas Mavericks’ 101-90 win against the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs first-round series, but was still the top points scorer on either team. However, the main takeaway from the game was the knee injury picked up by the Slovenian star.
Despite the scare, the former Real Madrid man managed to start Game 4 against the Clippers. It was Paul George who stepped up on court in the first half, with Doncic largely irrelevant. Perhaps that knee concern was indeed an issue...
What did Doncic say about his knee injury?
The 25-year-old suffered the injury in the first quarter and limped off for a short period, briefly appearing on the bench with a brace on his right knee. However, he soon removed it and returned to the action, battling on to play for 40 minutes in total. He did, though, appear to be in some pain both during and after the game.
“Not good,” Doncic told the media when asked about his knee following his team’s victory. “I felt it before I hit the knee. It’s pretty stiff right now, but we’ll know more tomorrow (Saturday). You know me, I’ll try to go anyway.”
The former Real Madrid star has suffered fairly minor knee injuries in the recent past, which he has largely been able to play through. He did miss back-to-back matches against the Thunder and the Pistons in mid-April, although that mainly as a precaution due to an ankle problem.
When will we know if Doncic will face the Clippers?
Doncic will undergo medical tests on Saturday to asses the extent of the damage, with Game 4 of the series against the Clippers, which the Mavericks lead 2-1, scheduled for Sunday (28 April, 3:30pm ET). All eyes will be on the injury report to see whether the five-time NBA All-Star will be available to play.
The Slovenian’s absence would clearly be a huge blow for Dallas as they look to progress to the conference semifinals for only the second time since 2011.
Doncic was the top scorer in the 2023/24 regular season with over 100 points more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Slovenian’s average of 33.9 points per game is comfortably more than second-placed Giannis Antetokounmpo (30.4).