Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic suffered a left thigh strain during the team’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans on March 8, 2023[1][2].
Doncic played 28 minutes in the game before exiting and he tallied 15 points, eight assists, and three rebounds
The injury has been bothering him for more than a week, and he could not pinpoint when it happened.
Doncic had an MRI on Thursday, March 9, 2023, which came back clean.
He is expected to return to the court as soon as discomfort allows him.
Doncic missed the Mavericks’ next three games due to the injury.
He declared himself day-to-day with his thigh injury and hoped to play against the Memphis Grizzlies in the Mavericks’ next game on Monday, March 20, 2023.
However, he remained out of the lineup when the Mavericks faced the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, March 17, 2023.
Doncic has had an outstanding season for the Mavericks in 2022-23, averaging 33.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game while shooting 50.0 percent from the field.
On March 18, 2023, FOX 4 Sports confirmed that the MRI on Doncic’s leg came back clean, and he is likely to return to the court soon.
Doncic says the injury limits his ability to push off and hurts his explosiveness.
The injury is now just a matter of pain tolerance for Doncic.
He could still miss a few games to recover, and with the Mavericks currently in the play-in, every game will count.
The Mavericks took on the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, March 18, 2023.