NBA News: Luka Doncic has to go against New Orleans with a thigh injury: there was no contact

Luka Doncic has to leave the game early when the Dallas Mavericks are bankrupt at the New Orleans Pelicans. According to media reports, there is no serious injury.

2:29 minutes before the end of the third quarter, Mavs coach Jason Kidd finally pulled the ripcord and took Doncic out of the game on the advice of his medical staff. “We can all see he’s not moving well,” Kidd said after the game. “Shooting, defense, the injury affects everything. He wanted to grit his teeth for his team-mates, but at some point we had to end that.”

The Mavs announced that it was a strain in the front of the thigh, according to Adrian Wojnarowski (ESPN) an MRI showed no structural damage. The Slovenian should not be missing for long. When asked how he felt after the game, Doncic answered briefly and succinctly with “not good”. Doncic was on the field for 28 minutes, with the playmaker having 15 points (4/14 FG) and 8 assists.

It’s not the first time the Slovenian has felt pain at this point, but apart from a five-game break, Doncic never missed more than one game in his rookie season because of it. According to Doncic himself, the thigh has been causing him problems since the game against the San Antonio Spurs (the second game after the All-Star Break).

Luka Doncic concedes another technical foul

According to his own statement, there was no trigger for the pain in New Orleans. “There was no contact, which was strange for me. (…) I feel it especially when I need to use both my legs for the jump shot. It was very difficult for me to be able to push off with my legs.”

The game plan could play Dallas in the cards, however, since the Texans are only in action again on Sunday night when a guest game in Memphis is due. It is still unclear whether Doncic can then play. In addition, the 24-year-old conceded his 15th technical foul of the season in the first quarter, with another Doncic having to sit out a game. Any further technical foul would then result in another game suspension.

Doncic and the Mavs cannot afford this. The bankruptcy puts the Texans back in eighth place in the west, even leading eleventh (OKC and Portland) by only 2.5 games.