By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
The Dallas Mavericks rallied past the Denver Nuggets but was Luka Doncic exiting due to injury with 44 seconds remaining in the home game held Monday evening.
“I talked to him for a little bit,” mentioned Kristaps Porzingis updating his teammate’s status, “He’s always: ‘Hey, I’ll be good, I’ll be good.’ Hopefully, he is good. We don’t know what it is. But we’re all hoping he’s healthy and just needs a little bit of time and he’ll be back soon.”
Porzingis, 26, posted a 29-point, 11-rebound double-double win the win. Since coming off a stint on the injury list, he has been averaging 23.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 blocks, and 0.8 steals. Four wins in those five contests have upped the W-L record to 9-4.
Doncic, 22, left the most recent game with 23 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds, two steals, and one block to his name. Early signs seeming to point toward a minor left ankle injury still tag him as questionable ahead of the four-game road trip containing a couple of matchups opposite both the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers. He has 48 hours to recover before the first game at Phoenix on Wednesday evening.
“Luka walked off on his own power. I think he got rolled up on his lower left leg, so we’ll see how he feels tomorrow,” pointed out head coach Jason Kidd.
A small-ball lineup used by Kidd was key in snapping the Nuggets five-game winning streak and avenging the recent blowout loss at Denver. Both Doncic and Porzingis were on the bench to start the fourth quarter, while French Frank Ntilikina was on the floor helping in a 13-2 run turning a three-point deficit into a solid lead.
“We are not afraid to do different things to get a win,” noted Kidd, “That group was really, really good.”
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