LOS ANGELES — Lakers star Luka Doncic limped off the court late in the second quarter and was ruled out for the rest of Thursday’s 119-115 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Lakers initially described Doncic’s injury as left leg soreness, but head coach JJ Redick said that Doncic would undergo an MRI on his left hamstring on Friday.
“Yeah, he felt some soreness in his hamstring, so he didn’t feel like it was good enough to go back in,” Redick said. “Neither did [our] medical [staff], so we held him out. And he’ll get some imaging. I mean, too early to say if there’s an injury, but just had a sore hamstring.”
Doncic scored 10 points on 3-for-10 shooting with four rebounds, two assists and five turnovers in 16 minutes of play before subbing out with 3:03 remaining in the first half. On his way off the floor, Doncic kicked the scorer’s table in frustration and then hunched over the table with his arms covering his face.
He did not emerge from the locker room after halftime, with Rui Hachimura taking his place with the first unit. Hachimura finished with 14 points and seven rebounds and sealed the win with a dunk to double L.A.’s lead from two to four with 12.3 seconds left.
Doncic, who has missed eight games this season with various leg injuries, came into the night leading the league in scoring with 33.4 points per game — along with 8.7 assists and 7.9 rebounds.
Thursday was just the 10th game this season that Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves were all in uniform together — James missed the first 14 games of the season with sciatica affecting his lower back and down his right side, and Reaves just returned Tuesday from a 19-game absence due to a left calf strain.
Reaves was superb in leading the Lakers back from a 14-point third-quarter deficit to the victory, scoring 35 points on 12-for-17 shooting in just 25 minutes because of a playing time restriction as he ramps back up from the calf injury. James shook off a 2-for-9 start from the field to finish with 17 points and 10 assists, though he tied his season worst with eight turnovers.
L.A. next hosts the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. Doncic’s availability is yet to be determined.
“Hopefully nothing major,” Reaves said of Doncic’s injury. “We need him. He’s our best player and the engine [for] a lot of the stuff we do. Hopefully we get good news [Friday], and I wish him nothing the best.”
