After Luka Doncic went down with an ankle sprain early in Saturday night's battle versus the Miami Heat, attention quickly shifted to the severity of the reigning Rookie of the Year's injury. X-rays were negative on Doncic's right ankle, and Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said after the game that Doncic was unlikely to play in Monday's showdown with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Doncic, reportedly diagnosed with a moderate ankle sprain, was able to put some weight on his foot when he left the arena after the game.
There was optimism within the organization that the injury wasn't too severe, per the Dallas Morning News' Brad Townsend, and that optimism might be correct as Dallas hopes Doncic to only miss a few days, as reported by ESPN's Tim MacMahon.
That means that Doncic will most likely be out when the Mavericks face some of the top teams in the East this week, beginning with the Bucks, followed by games versus the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors.
Instead of traveling with the team to Milwaukee, Doncic will receive treatment in Dallas, and could be back soon after Christmas, per Townsend.
With just over 10 minutes left in the first quarter versus Miami, Doncic drove to the basket and appeared to step on the foot of Heat rookie Kendrick Nunn. Doncic immediately fell into the stands, where he lay for several minutes before limping back to the locker room.
According to several reports, the American Airlines Center was nearly silent while Doncic was on the ground tending to his injury.
The reigning Rookie of the Year, Doncic has taken his game to stratospheric levels this season, averaging 30.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 9.4 assists heading into Saturday's game.
He also trails only Rockets guard James Harden and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo in usage rate, so it's a devastating blow to the Mavericks to lose Doncic for any amount of time, especially given the games they have coming up on their schedule.
