LOS ANGELES – After this morning’s shootaround practice at STAPLES Center, Dallas Mavericks point guard Luka Doncic declared himself “questionable” for tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Tipoff is at 9:30 p.m. CT.
Doncic suffered sprains in his left knee and left ankle with 44 seconds remaining in the Mavs’ 111-101 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 15. The injury forced him to miss all three games on this road trip, which concludes with tonight’s encounter against the Clippers.
Following the shootaround, Doncic said he felt alright.
“It’s still painful,” he said. “But we’ll see after (pre-game warmups) how I feel before the game. We’ll do everything possible to try to play. Obviously, we’ll see before the game.”
During a 5-on-5 scrimmage after Monday’s practice, Doncic said he bumped knees with another player, and that caused him some discomfort before he went and sat down in the bleachers and had his left knee wrapped with ice.
“Nothing really happened,” Doncic said. “We just bumped knees.”
He added that it didn’t cause any re-aggravation to his knee.
The Mavs lost a pair of games in Phoenix and also this past Sunday to the Clippers since Doncic has been sidelined. The losses were by seven, eight and six points, respectively, meaning a dynamic player of Doncic’s superstar status could have changed the final outcome.
“I want to play,” Doncic said. “I always want to play. It’s hard to be on the bench and watch. I’m way more nervous (sitting in street clothes) than playing, so I don’t really like it. So hopefully I’m back really soon.”
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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