DALLAS — Luka Doncic missed the Dallas Mavericks' 108-106 win over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night because of right knee soreness. To make up for Doncic's absence, PJ Washington scored 32 points and Kyrie Irving added 26 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.
The Mavs will face the Houston Rockets on Sunday afternoon, concluding a three-game homestand before heading off on a short two-game Eastern Conference road trip. Doncic entered Friday with the same injury report designation and is listed as questionable to play due to the same right knee injury that ruled him out Friday, but he was later downgraded to questionable. , excluded.
April 5, 2024. Dallas, Texas, USA.Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic during a timeout with teammates
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Considering that tip-off time in Doncic's home country of Slovenia is 9:30 p.m., it's hard to imagine him missing the game unless he really has to. Sunday afternoon's game is one of the few prime-time opportunities to play live at a more affordable time for European fans.
Other names on the Mavs' injury report include Derek Lively II (sprained right knee) and Josh Green (sprained right ankle) who missed the game against the Rockets. As for Lively or Green, there is no firm timetable for their return yet. Maxi Kleber (back spasms) is questionable to play after missing Friday's game against Golden State.
The Mavs are still chasing the fourth seed in the Western Conference, two games behind the fourth-place Los Angeles Clippers. But with no tiebreaker and only five games remaining, the best Dallas can achieve is likely fifth place, where the team already holds the seed. The Mavs are just one game behind the seventh-place Phoenix Suns, but they have the tiebreaker in that situation.
With the win over the Warriors, Dallas improved to 4-3 with Irving playing, but Doncic was sidelined, proving he can overcome injuries if needed. Even before achieving this result, Mavs coach Jason Kidd talked about how this team had to overcome injuries throughout the season, and health concerns because basketball is a collective effort. He emphasized that he did not intend to put unnecessary pressure on the reason.
“I'm not going to push. I'm going to sit down,” Kidd said. “That's why this is a team sport. Next man up. That's what it is. We've played with Luka. We've played without Kai. We've had injuries. So that's what we're doing. That's the thing. It's the next man up.” ”
Before playing against the Warriors, Kidd emphasized how the Mavs are focused on taking each game at a time instead of focusing on seeding.
“We just have to play tonight's game. We can't worry about No. 4 or No. 5 or No. 6. We have to play the Warriors and that's all we can focus on. About No. 4. It's a bit of a stupid thing to talk about.'' “We can do it. We just play tonight's game and that's it. We're focused on the Warriors, but with injuries and players missing.'' It will be.”
Doncic averaged 33.8 points, 9.8 assists, and 9.2 rebounds in 67 games, compiling a 43-24 record in 63 games. He recently destroyed the Rockets with 47 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists in 35 minutes. Having him there will definitely be a boost.
