Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic was visibly limping late in Game 4 against the Clippers. Going into the match with knee pain, there were already doubts and decisions were made during the match. It also didn't seem to help that Doncic's right knee hit the ground awkwardly and collided with Clippers forward Terrence Mann after chasing a rebound.
However, Donic did not allow the knee injury to be the reason for today's loss. “Obviously it hurts,” he told the media long after the game, “but we shouldn't make excuses. We came out sloppy and we have to do better than that.”
Coach Jason Kidd said of Doncic's health after the game: “I think he did everything he could. You've got to ask him about his health. I think he competed on both ends (of the floor). ” was all he said. Besides that comment, he didn't want to talk much about the condition of his knee.
“(My knee) is pretty stiff right now, but you know what, I'm just going to go for it,” Doncic told the media after Friday's Game 3. Jason Kidd backed that up when he met with the media on Saturday, and kind of brushed it off by saying, “Everybody's stiff and in pain.”
It was a physical series, the theme of the NBA playoffs. The scoring in this series was lower than most expected and below each team's season average. “Physical, they (Mavericks) were definitely physical, but it's playoff basketball, it's not substandard,” Clippers star Paul George said after Game 2.
Game 5 won't be played until Wednesday at 9pm CST at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, giving Doncic a few days of rest.
Read more: Dallas Mavericks' Kyrie Irving reveals how he had an explosive second half
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