Injured star Luka Doncic will join the Dallas Mavericks on their upcoming trip, which starts Saturday in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz.
After sitting out the past five games because of an injured wrist, Doncic returned to practice with his teammates Friday and “looked good,” according to coach Jason Kidd. Doncic is officially listed as doubtful for Saturday’s game; Dallas plays the Trail Blazers in Portland, Oregon on Sunday.
Unlike last season, when the Mavericks won only four of 12 games in Doncic’s absence, Dallas has fared well without their top player since he was injured on Nov. 19 against New Orleans. The Mavs are 4-1 in that stretch, including a 129-119 win at Atlanta on Monday and Wednesday’s 129-114 victory over the New York Knicks.
Remarkably, Dallas had four players score at least 20 points in each of those most recent wins, setting a team record. Against the Knicks, Naji Marshall scored 24, Kyrie Irving had 23 and Quentin Grimes and Spencer Dinwiddie scored 21 each.
Marshall has been particularly effective in Doncic’s absence. He has averaged 23 points on 63.3% shooting while hitting half of his 3-point attempts in the past four games.
Dallas’ depth has been critical to its 11-8 record. The Mavs have had at least six players reach double figures in each of their past six games. In the Mavericks’ 123-120 win over Denver on Nov. 22, seven players scored in double figures.
Field Level Media contributed to this report.
