SI

Luka Doncic Could Not Stop Getting Hit in the Face During First Half vs. Celtics

Some bad luck for the Lakers star.

Kyle Koster

Luka Doncic gets hit in the face a second time.
Luka Doncic gets hit in the face a second time. / ESPN/ABC
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The much-anticipated Los Angeles Lakers-Boston Celtics marquee Saturday night matchup lived up to its high billing over the first 24 minutes, showcasing two teams who have legitimate NBA title aspirations. Jayson Tatum's dunk gave the home team a 58-54 lead at intermission. Tatum scored 22 points and LeBron James racked up 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

The more interesting stat, though, is the number of times Luka Doncic got hit very hard on the face.

First he received an Al Horford knee to the moneymaker after the Celtics forward spun off the rim following a dunk.

Later he had the unpleasant experience of briefly drawing an offensive foul on Jaylen Brown, only to have that call reversed on a coach's challenge.

In both instances it looked like Doncic avoided any serious injury. Still, no one wants to get whacked in the face a single time, let alone double-down on the experience.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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