Dončić’s status unclear after missing practice with left heel contusion

Dallas Mavericks superstar point guard Luka Dončić did not practice Wednesday due to a left heel contusion and it’s uncertain if he’ll play Thursday when the Mavs host the Los Angeles Clippers.

“We’ll see how he feels tomorrow,” coach Jason Kidd said. “But without the practicing, we’ll see how he feels.”

Dončić has been on a tear lately while racking up triple-doubles in three of the past four games. That includes an extraordinary 45-point, 11-rebound, 13-assist triple double during Sunday’s entertaining 143-133 road win over the Golden State Warriors.

Dončić leads the Mavs in scoring (28.9), rebounds (8.6), assists (8.1) and steals (2.1), and is also shooting 35.5 percent from three-point range. In addition, he’s averaging 37 minutes as opposed to the 37.5 minutes he averaged last season.

With Kyrie Irving, Naji Marshall, P. J. Washington, Spencer Dinwiddie and Jaden Hardy able to effectively bring the ball up the floor and run the offense, that has afforded the Mavs the ability to rest Dončić and take him off the ball a bit longer than in years past.

“Usage can go up, usage can go down,” Kidd said. “I think it is what it is right now. When you have a group that can put the ball on the floor, that helps (Dončić) and it only makes him stronger for this marathon.

“A lot of times we get caught up in different people’s game instead of looking at the whole picture. So just understanding if his usage rate is down and you’re winning, that must mean you have a really good team.”

The Mavs have won 12 of their last 14 games and are fourth in the NBA in scoring at 119.5 points per game. And when they see situations where they can take some pressure off Dončić, they relish that opportunity.

“We leaned on Luka a lot in the past since we’ve been here of doing everything.” Kidd said. “When you do have help, I think it can only make him stronger as the season goes on – when you talk about April, May and June – to be able to have him stronger, where you might have extended himself in December or January.”

Newcomer Klay Thompson has benefitted handsomely in his first season playing alongside Dončić.

“I’m learning playing with Luka that if you run to the corner or you get out in transition, he’s going to find you,” Thompson said. “His passes are incredible.

“He puts them in the shooting pocket and on the seams mostly every time, so it’s awesome to be a beneficiary of his greatness.”

Marshall echoed that sentiment, especially when discussing the triple-doubles Dončić has accumulated lately.

“It’s normal to me at this point,” Marshall said. “It’s just who he is, it’s what we expect and it’s just legendary, and to be able to be part of his story (is great), to be honest.

“We’re feeding off of him right now. He’s going through a run right now. He’s in his bag, so we’re just trying to be ready and stay out the of the way, to be honest.”

The Mavs are an impressive 5-1 this season in games Dončić has missed. And this season, they’re playing much faster whether Dončić is on the court or not.

“I think playing faster was discussed with Luka and his response was we got to take it out quickly, which he’s right,” Kidd said, referring to discussions in training camp. “We made a conscious effort of playing faster.

“And then when you look at getting him off the ball, playing behind the defense is something we felt that could help him where he’s not just in front of the defense and everybody’s staring at him. Or he can be behind the defense and work from behind. I think it’s helped him where he doesn’t have to drag two people with him. He’ll only deals with the one defender until he does get the ball.”

As of now, the Mavs just hope Doncic will be able to play Thursday so they can give him the ball and watch him work his magic.

MARSHALL IS BACK, AND A LITTLE LIGHTER: Mavs forward Naji Marshall returned to practice this week after missing Sunday’s game against the Golden State Warriors with an illness.

Marshall last played in the 118-104 loss at Oklahoma City on Dec. 10 when he scored 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

“It’s been eight days, so I feel good,” he said. “I’ve got my legs under me, I feel a little skinny.”

Marshall said he lost some weight while dealing with his illness. But he also said: “I’m back, I’m feeling better, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s game (against the LA Clippers).

Marshall didn’t make the trip to San Francisc for the game between the Mavs and Warriors. It was a video-type-game where both teams combined to convert an NBA record 48 three-pointers.

“I had to turn off (the TV) a couple of times,” Marshall said. “They were having too much fun.”

Marshall did turn to social media to express his excitement about the Mavs-Warriors game.

“That’s just one of the ways to past the time by and communicate with the Dallas fans,” he said. “(I’m) just trying to keep my spirits high.”

BRIEFLY: The NBA announced changes to the All-Star game where players will be broken up into four different teams. “They’re searching to figure out how to make the All-Star weekend fun and competitive,” Kidd said. “Hopefully, this is their answer. They’re running out of options. We can always go back to East-West, but I think this is something new to see if we can have a competitive Sunday.” The All-Star game will be played on Feb. 16 in San Francisco . . . It was 10 years ago Wednesday when the Mavs traded Jae Crowder, Jameer Nelson, Brandan Wright, a 2015 first-round pick and a 2016 second-round pick to the Boston Celtics for Rajon Rondo and Dwight Powell. While Rondo only played 46 regular season games for the Mavs before he departed, Powell is now the longest-tenured Mav currently on the team. “I think DP is a pro when you talk about his leadership,” Kidd said. “He comes to work every day, he puts in the work, he’s always prepared, he’s always ready to play. When you talk about a true pro, and he takes his job serious, Dwight does that at a very high level.” . . . When he played for the Golden State Warriors, Klay Thompson recalls the close relationship he had with Rick Welts, who was an executive with the Warriors at the time and was announced Wednesday as the Mavs’ new chief executive officer. “I’ve got a great past with Rick,” Thompson said. “It’s an incredible hire for the team, and for me myself I’m personally very excited. Rick has done so much for basketball He’s a hall of famer, and if it wasn’t for him the All-Star weekend wouldn’t even exist, so he can take that same creativity with what we’re doing here. Just his experience with the business of basketball and his relationship with players. I know he was incredible tight with the late great Bill Russell, and he’s overseen decades of incredible growth of the league.”

X: @DwainPrice