OKLAHOMA CITY — Thursday night at Paycom Center went from bad to worse for the Lakers.
Star guard Luka Doncic left during the third quarter of the blowout road loss to the Thunder because of a left hamstring injury.
Doncic was hobbling after a drive attempt against Thunder wing Jalen Williams midway through the third, limping to stay off his left leg before laying down underneath the basket by the Thunders’ bench, with coach JJ Redick calling timeout to sub Doncic out of the game.
Redick said Doncic will get an MRI on Friday to determine the severity of the injury.
“At this point, at this juncture of the season, it’s the last thing you want to see,” LeBron James said. “Especially, anybody on our team, but when you have an MVP candidate on your team, the last thing you want to see is somebody go down with a hamstring injury. I don’t know how severe it is. I don’t know obviously what the case may be, so pray for the best for sure and a speedy recovery.”
Doncic was on the injury report because of left hamstring soreness before the March 27 home win over the Nets, but played after being listed as questionable, scoring 41 points in 39 minutes to lead the Lakers to a victory.
He sat out of Monday’s win over the Wizards, serving his one-game suspension because of an accumulation of technical fouls after picking up his 16th of the season against the Nets, before having 42 points in Tuesday’s home win over the Cavaliers.
Doncic sat out of the Lakers’ last four games leading into the All-Star break because of a left hamstring strain.
He appeared to injure the left hamstring ailment that he was dealing with in the first half but tried to play through.
“We checked him out,” Redick said. “He got work done. He was cleared. I mean, again, we’re not going to put a player at risk. Those things happen.”
Doncic walked off the court under his own power before going back to the locker room.
“You wish for the best,” Austin Reaves said. “Obviously, you don’t want to see anybody get hurt. But you hold on to some faith for the best news possible. I’ve gotten to know him the last year and a half. He’s a competitor, so he’ll do all he can do to put himself in a position to come back when he can.”
Reaves also was dealing with a lower back/side ailment that he played through after overextending for a rebound earlier in the game.
“I felt something,” he said postgame. “But I feel decent right now, so we’ll see.”
