SACRAMENTO — The Dallas Mavericks will have Luka Doncic available for Friday's rematch against the Sacramento Kings after he was ruled out due to a sore left Achilles tendon. Maxi Kleber (right knee soreness) has been upgraded from questionable to available, but Josh Green (right ankle sprain) remains sidelined.
Doncic dealt with the same Achilles injury in Tuesday's game against the Kings, making him a game-time decision. He was upgraded to availability before taking the court for pregame workouts and recorded 28 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists in a 132-96 victory.
March 26, 2024. Sacramento, California, USA.Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) shoots the ball
Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
With the stakes as high as Friday's game, it was hard to imagine Doncic not playing unless the injury was serious enough to simply force him out. A loss against the Kings would mean Sacramento would win the season series 3-1 in the tiebreaker and fall back into the Western Conference standings for seeding in the play-in tournament.
“It's a huge game,” Doncic said of the two-game miniseries before Tuesday's game. “It's tough to play in Sacramento. The crowd is pumped up and there's a lot of great players. It's definitely going to be a tough two games. We were together for 48 minutes and had to be physical. .”
Doncic played in 63 games for the Mavs, averaging 33.9 points, 9.8 assists, and 9.1 rebounds. He remains an MVP candidate, ranking just behind Nikola Jokic in NBA.com's latest weekly rankings. Doncic's prospects will only get better if Dallas can continue winning amid a 9-1 record in their last 10 games.
