Dallas Mavs Injury Update: Luka Doncic Will Play vs. Sacramento Kings

Mavs superstar Luka Doncic was upgraded to available for Friday's matchup against the Kings despite being listed as questionable due to left Achilles soreness.

SACRAMENTO — The Dallas Mavericks will have Luka Doncic available during Friday's rematch against the Sacramento Kings after he was listed as questionable to play due to left Achilles soreness. Maxi Kleber (right knee soreness) was upgraded from questionable to available, while Josh Green (right ankle sprain) remains out.

Doncic dealt with the same Achilles injury entering Tuesday's matchup against the Kings, making him a game-time decision. He was upgraded to available before taking the court for his pre-game workout and went on to record 28 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists in the 132-96 victory.

Mar 26, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) shoots the ball

Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

The stakes being as high as they are for Friday's game made it difficult to envision Doncic not playing unless it was simply not too significant of an injury to power through. A loss against the Kings would result in falling back into the play-in tournament seeding in the Western Conference standings, in addition to Sacramento winning the season-series 3-1 for the tiebreaker.

“Very big games,” Doncic said of the two-game mini-series before Tuesday's game. “It’s tough to play Sacramento. The crowd’s going, they got a lot of great players. It’s going to be a tough two games for sure. We got to stay together for 48 minutes and be physical.”

Doncic has continued to produce historic results for the Mavs, averaging 33.9 points, 9.8 assists, and 9.1 rebounds in 63 appearances. He remains in the MVP conversation, trailing only Nikola Jokic on NBA.com's weekly ladder on the latest edition. If Dallas can continue to win games amid a 9-1 record over 10 previous games, Doncic's outlook will only improve.