Lakers superstar Luka Doncic strained his left hamstring in Thursday’s loss at the Oklahoma City Thunder and will have an MRI on Friday to determine the extent of his strained injury, Los Angeles coach JJ Redick told reporters after the game.
Doncic, 27, who leads the NBA in scoring at 33.5 points per game, appeared to hurt his hamstring in the first half, per an ESPN report, then tweaked it again in the third quarter. Guarded by Jalen Williams, Doncic planted his left leg before doubling over in pain and laying down on the court, covering his face with his hands.
Doncic, who scored 12 points on 3-of-10 shooting from the field before exiting, gingerly walked to the locker room on his own with 7:39 left in the third quarter. The Lakers were losing 90-58 at the time en route to a 139-96 setback, snapping their four-game win streak.
“At this point, at this juncture of the season, it’s the last thing you want to see,” teammate LeBron James told reporters. “When you have an MVP candidate on your team, the last thing you want to see is somebody go down with a hamstring injury. … So, pray for the best, for sure, and a speedy recovery.”
Doncic, who did not speak to reporters after the game, joined his teammates for their postgame flight to Dallas. Redick said Doncic’s hamstring was treated at halftime and the team’s medical staff gave the approval for him to return to the court.
“We checked him out,” Redick said. “He got work done. He was cleared. I mean, again, we’re not going to put a player at risk.”
Doncic, who missed four games with a previous left hamstring strain in February, received Western Conference Player of the Month honors for averaging 37.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game in March.
A six-time All-Star guard, Doncic has been selected All-NBA first team five times and was the 2018-19 NBA Rookie of the Year.
–Field Level Media
