Luka Doncic Injures Ankle in Mavs’ Loss to Bucks: ‘I Felt a Pop’
For a team that has endured so many injuries already this season, the last thing the Dallas Mavericks needed was their superstar going down with one on Saturday night against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Unfortunately for the Mavs, Luka Doncic injured his right ankle — the one he’s sprained multiple times already — while being on the floor when Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo fell on top of it. After initially leaving the game and going back to the locker room, Doncic returned to action, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Mavs from blowing a 25-point lead in what ended up being a 129-117 loss.
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The freshly-minted five-time All-Star finished with 40 points on 13-26 shooting from the field to go with nine rebounds and 11 assists despite sustaining the ankle injury.
With a vitality important east-coast road trip coming up, the hope is that Doncic won’t have to miss any time, but the fact that he “felt a pop” is concerning.
“It’s the same ankle [I’ve injured before]. I heard it pop,” Doncic said. “It’s pretty strong now, if it was last year, it would’ve been worse. But this year I work on it every day, so it’s stronger. … Yeah it turned like this and then Giannis fell on it. I heard a pop.”
Doncic finished the game despite having to briefly exit after the injury initially happened — we assume to get it taped — so that’s a good sign for Dallas. That being said, how Doncic’s ankle feels on Sunday, and then heading into Monday when the Mavs will prepare to take on the Philadelphia 76ers, will determine if he’s going to have to miss any time or not.
Kyrie Irving, who has missed six games due to a thumb sprain, could make his return against the 76ers. With just 33 games remaining in the season, the Mavs, who are stuck in the Play-In Tournament range of the Western Conference standings, need all the reinforcements they can get.
