Luka Doncic‘s injury leaves the Dallas Mavericks‘ season in a precarious position as the Texas-based team slipped to a 123-118 defeat to the Miami Heat, despite Naji Marshall and Klay Thompson‘s efforts.
Combined, Marshall and Thompson posted 35 points, 11 rebounds and two assists at the Kaseya Center in Florida on November 24 but it wasn’t enough to prevent them from an overtime loss.
The franchise have now slipped to ninth in the Western Conference with a .529 record and are 5-5 in their last 10 with four teams behind them, no more than two wins back, leaving them in a risky position.
And that comes as Doncic finds himself hurt with a sprained wrist shortly after suffering a contusion to the knee, with ESPN’s Shams Charania reporting he will miss time as he recovers to fitness.
It’s a loss that is being felt throughout the team as Marshall heaped praise on the point guard, who was putting up 28.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists through 14 starts in 2024/25 prior to the injury.
“Ultra superstar. In clutch situations, we would love to have him,” Marshall said of Doncic. “That’s what he does best.
“We’re missing a whole lot, as a player in Luka Doncic. Hopefully my guy gets right and when he gets back, he can take over.”
When is Luka Doncic back?
After describing the injury as “nothing serious” after the game against the New Orleans Pelicans, the 25-year-old European has been told to rest up for around a week by the Mavericks’ doctors to prevent any further damage.
That means he will miss the games against the Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks with the hope that he will be back on court against the Utah Jazz on November 30.
The game will take place at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City with tip-off expected from 21:30 ET/18:30 PT.