Mavs' Luka Doncic Dealing With Leg Injury: 'I Just Try to Keep Going'
DALLAS — Before the Dallas Mavericks faced off against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, Luka Doncic did not take part in his usual pre-game on-court workout. Every player tends to be scheduled for a time and he didn't take the floor as usual.
"I've been dealing with that [since] last week," Doncic said after Sunday's game. "Today was the worst. But you know, I just try to keep going."
While it hasn't been listed on the injury report, Doncic had been noticeably bothered by some sort of issue with is quad. He played 35 minutes and finished with 34 points, nine rebounds, and four assists, but he totaled five turnovers, while shooting 8-23 from the floor and 1-9 from 3-point range.
When asked to specify what kind of injury it is, Doncic shared that he isn't entirely sure what it even is. It sounded as though the team had evaluated the injury, but there wasn't a definitive conclusion reached about the cause of it.
"We don't really know because I think I didn't get hit," Doncic said. "But we didn't really know."
In terms of impact on performance, Doncic explained that it impacts him when he attempts to shoot the basketball, or to jump since the leg that's bothering him feels "a little weaker." Regardless, he feels as though it's not significantly impacting him.
"When I try to shoot or jump, I feel like this leg is a little weaker. ... Pain-wise, it's a little bit, but it's not too bad."
Doncic had a point blank finish attempt with a chance to tie Sunday's game after Kevin Durant converted a 14-foot pull-up jumper with 12.1 seconds left to go. Doncic made clear that he simply missed the shot and didn't point to the injury as the cause.
"I thought it was in, but I just missed it," Doncic said. "One of my friends texted me 'I would even make that.'"
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