A collision caused Doncic’s injury, who left the game and did not speak to the press
LOS ANGELES — The Lakers star, Luka Doncic, suffered a contusion to his left leg in the first half of Saturday’s 103-88 loss to the LA Clippers and did not return to the game.
Doncic entered the night as the NBA’s leading scorer with an average of 35.2 points per game — the best of his career — along with 9.1 assists, 8.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals.
He had difficulties in the first half against the Clippers, with 12 points after shooting 4 of 13 from the field (1 of 6 on triples), in addition to five rebounds, two assists and four turnovers. The Lakers went into halftime down 54-39.
“I saw him limping toward the end of the first half. He came to talk to me at halftime and told me he couldn’t continue,” Lakers coach JJ Redick explained after the game.
Doncic left the Intuit Dome without speaking to reporters, and Redick declined to speculate on how long he might be out.
“I have no further information,” Redick said.
Doncic had already missed three games in late October due to a bruise on his lower left leg; however, Saturday’s circumstances appear to be unrelated. A source close to the injury told ESPN that it was caused by a collision with Clippers guard Bogdan Bogdanović.
The Lakers already came into the game without three starters: Austin Reaves (left calf), Deandre Ayton (left elbow) and Rui Hachimura (right groin).
Dalton Knecht He started the second half in place of Doncic.
“No matter the circumstances, it’s always the next guy’s turn,” LeBron James said. “We are all professionals. We have to be ready. Obviously these are very challenging circumstances for our team, but I think we played with a lot of dedication, we followed our keys. We just fell short.”
James scored a season-high 36 points on 15-of-28 shooting (3-of-7 from 3-point range), and helped reduce a 22-point deficit in the third quarter to just seven at the start of the fourth quarter before the Lakers gave up for good.
The rest of the team shot 19 of 60 (31.7%), including a poor 3 of 31 on three-pointers (9.7%).
“We just didn’t make the shots tonight,” the Lakers forward said. Jake LaRavia. “That was it. We were 6 of 38 on three-pointers as a team and we missed seven free throws. It’s hard to win games like that. I think we played very hard, but the shots didn’t go in.”
Redick did not rule out the possibility of Reaves and Ayton being available for the Lakers’ next game, Tuesday away against the Phoenix Suns. He also said he’s “optimistic” that Hachimura’s groin injury will keep him out for only three to five days.
The loss left the Lakers with a 19-8 record, fourth in the Western Conference. After the quick trip to Phoenix, they will receive Christmas Day to the Houston Rocketscurrent fifth in the West.
“The worst thing about sports is injuries,” James said. “And not just about basketball, but about sport in general. You control what you can control, but with those who are in uniform we have to go out and execute at the maximum possible pace and, on the other side, defend as a block and help each other.”
