LOS ANGELES — The injury-depleted Lakers lost another key piece Saturday night when guard Luka Doncic did not return after halftime because of a left leg contusion, according to head coach JJ Redick.
Doncic, who started the evening leading the NBA in scoring at 35.2 points per game, struggled before the break. In 19:34 of first-half action he shot 4-for-13 from the field and 1-for-6 from three-point range, finishing with 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and four turnovers.
“I saw him hobbling toward the end of the first half,” Redick told reporters. “He came to me at halftime and said he couldn’t go. I don’t have any other information.”
A source familiar with the situation said the injury occurred during a collision with Clippers guard Bogdan Bogdanovic. Doncic left Crypto.com Arena without speaking to the media, and Redick declined to estimate a timetable for his return.
Previous durability concerns
The 26-year-old missed three games in late October with a lower left leg contusion but had otherwise appeared in 21 of Los Angeles’ first 27 contests. Questions about long-term health were among the factors that led Dallas to trade him to the Lakers last February.
Lakers’ mounting injury list
Los Angeles entered the matchup already without starters Austin Reaves (left calf strain), Deandre Ayton (left elbow pain) and Rui Hachimura (groin soreness). Redick said Reaves and Ayton could be available for Tuesday’s game in Phoenix, while Hachimura is expected to miss three to five days.
Game recap
Second-year forward Dalton Knecht opened the third quarter in place of Doncic, recording two points and four rebounds in 13:29. The Lakers fell to their crosstown rivals by 15 points despite a season-high 36 from LeBron James. The rest of the roster combined to shoot 19-of-60 (31.7%) overall and 3-of-31 (9.7%) from beyond the arc.
“No matter what the circumstances are, it’s still next man up,” James said. “We’re all professionals. We all have to stay ready. We played extremely hard and followed our keys, but we came up short.”
Source: Hoops Rumors
