The Los Angeles Lakers announced at halftime of Saturday night’s game against the L.A. Clippers that Luka Doncic has been ruled out for the rest of the night with a left leg contusion.
Doncic was noticeably compromised in the first half, playing 19 minutes and finishing with 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and four turnovers on 4-of-13 shooting and 1-of-16 from deep. He came out slow and never really looked like himself.
Being without Doncic certainly is not ideal as he is the team’s primary source of offense, especially in the absence of other key injured players like Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent.
It remains to be seen how serious the left injury is and how much time Doncic will miss beyond Saturday night, if any at all. As they have with all of their other players though, the Lakers will be cautious to ensure it doesn’t become a long-term injury.
In the meantime, LeBron James will take over as the Lakers’ primary offensive initiator while other players will need to step up to keep the team afloat. The Lakers next take the court on Tuesday night, which will give Doncic a couple of days to rest to see if he will be able to play.
Luka Doncic made Lakers history in last game
In the Lakers’ recent win over the Utah Jazz, Doncic became the fourth player in franchise history to record a 40-point triple-double, joining Elgin Baylor, Magic Johnson and Jerry West.
Doncic’s 40-point triple-double is the first by a Lakers player in over 40 years as Johnson had been the last to accomplish the feat when he did so on March 28, 1981. Ironically, that also came against the Jazz.
Doncic did not just land in the Lakers history books with this performance as he also became the fourth player in NBA history to record 10 40-point triple-doubles in his career. James Harden, Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook are the other three, all of whom are perhaps the three players most synonymous with the triple-double.
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