Latest update on Luka Doncic injury, status for Game 2 vs. Thunder

The Dallas Mavericks are coming off a 117-95 loss to the No. 1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of a Western Conference semifinals series. OKC was led by a 29-point, nine-rebound, nine-assist game from MVP runner-up Shai Gilgeous Alexander, which is the type of near-triple-double stat line we’ve come to expect from Luka Doncic.

Those performances have been few and far between this postseason for the Dallas star.

Luka scored just 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting in the loss; it marked the first time he’d scored fewer than 20 points in his last 24 playoff games.

The 25-year-0ld has struggled through a right knee sprain he suffered in the Mavericks’ opening-round series win over the Los Angeles Clippers. He shot 1-of-8 from three in Game 1 and the Thunder targeted him on defense, where he looked even slower than usual.

Dallas needs peak Luka for the rest of the series if it hopes to upset the Thunder.

Is Luka Doncic playing tonight for the Dallas Mavericks against Oklahoma City?

Doncic is listed as probable on the Mavericks’ injury report, the same designation he had before taking the floor in Game 1.

Dallas Mavericks Injury Report Game 2 vs. OKC Thunder

Luka Doncic – probable (right knee sprain)
Maxi Kleber – out (right shoulder sprain)
Olivier-Maxence Prosper – out (left ankle sprain)

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) May 8, 2024

At this point, it seems like Dallas is stuck with a hobbled Luka for the 2024 playoffs. His knee isn’t getting any healthier – and won’t as he continues to trudge through 40-plus minutes per game – and his inefficiency has been alarming. He’s shooting only 39.5 percent from the floor and 22.7 percent from three.

With a struggling Doncic, the odds of upsetting a younger and far more athletic Oklahoma City team are slim at best, regardless of what the Mavericks get from Kyrie Irving and the rest of their supporting cast.

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