Is Luka Doncic Playing Tonight? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Lakers vs. Thunder Game 3)

Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic has missed the team's entire playoff run with a hamstring injury, and he's listed as out for Game 3 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Lakers are down 2-0 in this series, and they have struggled to get much going on offense, scoring 90 points in Game 1 and 107 points in Game 2. OKC won both of those games by 18 points and has five wins (in six meetings) against the Lakers in the 2025-26 season by 18 or more points.

Doncic revealed earlier in the week that he has not been cleared for contact, and the star guard was originally given an eight-week timeline to return to action. He's only about five weeks removed from suffering the hamstring injury in a game against OKC during the regular season. So, it's possible Doncic won't be back in this series, especially if the Lakers get swept.

Oddsmakers at DraftKings have set the Lakers as 8.5-point underdogs in Game 3 after they were 15.5-point underdogs without Doncic in Games 1 and 2. Doncic's impact for L.A. was massive during the regular season, as he averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from 3.

With Doncic ... here's a look at how I'm betting on the Lakers in the prop market in Game 3.

Best Lakers Prop Bet vs. Thunder

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

LeBron James 20+ Points (-157)

I shared in my NBA Best Bets column – Peter’s Points – why James remains an elite prop target in Game 3:

James continues to hold off “Father Time,” dropping 20 or more points in six of his eight playoff games, including four in a row, heading into Game 3 on Saturday night.

The Lakers star has been able to dominate some of OKC’s smaller wing defenders in the post, and he’s averaging 25.0 points per game while shooting 60 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3 in this series.

So, I think it’s a discount to get him to score 20 or more points at home on Saturday. Austin Reaves’ presence has given James the ability to play off the ball with less defensive attention, and the star forward took advantage with several deep post-up catches in Game 2.

James only has two games this postseason where he failed to score 20 points – Game 1 against Houston when he had 19 and Game 4 against Houston when he scored 10 on just nine shots in a blowout loss.

I think this is a pretty safe play on Saturday night.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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