The Dallas Mavericks faced the Phoenix Suns a few hours ago as fans were waiting for the matchup that would have had two of the biggest talents in the NBA; Luka Doncic and Devin Booker. Unfortunately for the Suns, Dbook remains on the sidelines even after more than a month. The main reason for his lengthy absence would be a groin injury.
Spencer Dinwiddie picked up the slack tonight after Luka Doncic went down with injury. 👏 pic.twitter.com/VUqwAISSEh
— theScore (@theScore) January 27, 2023
The Mavericks won the game 99-95. Many might claim that it was a low-scoring game, rather unusual when Luka Magic plays. The point to note is that the Slovenian was on the court for only three minutes, before limping off. Spencer Dinwiddie stepped up for the Mavs in Luka’s absence, contributing 36 points. Dorian Finney-Smith bagged a double-double, with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
What type of injury did Luka Doncic suffer?
In the first quarter, Doncic was up against the Suns’ Cameron Johnson. After a pump fake against Johnson, Luka turned back to access his other options. This was when he rolled his left ankle by stepping on Mikal Bridges, who was just behind him. It certainly looked like Luka felt an instant impact of the injury as his reaction indicates.
Luka Doncic is heading to the locker room after hurting his left ankle 🙏pic.twitter.com/IULzyJPdQP
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 27, 2023
There was major doubt over whether he would return to the game, but the Mavs later announced that Luka was out for the rest of the night. This was the first time in his career that he has ended a game without scoring any points. After the game, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd spoke to the media about Luka’s injury and its seriousness.
He said during the post-game press conference, “He looked good. He looked fine, but we’ll see as we go forward here. We’ll have probably more information once we get to Utah.” Luka has not suffered a major injury in recent times and has not been on the sidelines for a significant amount of time.
It is not something that he would have wished for, especially just a few weeks before the All-Star game. However, it certainly seems like he might make a recovery soon, and that it could be just an ankle roll. He has faced the same injury in his career before and has done well to recover quickly. Luka has been the standout player for the Mavs this season, averaging 33.0 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 8.4 assists. Mavs fans will be hoping he gets back to action soon to help the franchise make the playoffs this year.