In one of the first actions of the match between the Mavericks and the Clippers, James Harden tries to attack the circle but has the ball intercepted by Luka Doncic. Problem: the Dallas leader grimaces and shakes his left hand. In slow motion, we see that his thumb was twisted when it hit “The Beard”’s knee…
Strapped up, the Slovenian still played 38 minutes, scoring 30 points at 12/27 shooting 1/8 from distance, with 4 assists for 4 turnovers. Nevertheless, he spent the evening grimacing, and he was clearly not in his best form, limiting his defensive efforts as much as possible, to the point of being chambered by Russell Westbrook.
“I hit his knee” says Luka Doncic. “I saw the picture of the action and it’s not a pretty sight. »
The radios played at halftime were obviously not a pretty sight either.
Pending further testing
“I don’t think it’s broken. The x-rays initially showed it was broken.” recognizes Luka Doncic. “But we will know more tomorrow, in Dallas. »
The 3rd best scorer of the season (30.5 points per match) will therefore undergo additional examinations to find out what is really happening. But the entire franchise is holding its breath as Dallas (10-6) has fallen into line after its very good start to the season. Beaten three times in the last four games, the Texans suffered last night from the absence of Derek Lively II under the circle.
More generally, Jason Kidd regretted the lack of physical impact from his players, who were apathetic from the start of the match and who failed to help the Irving/Doncic duo.
Grant Williams, Derrick Jones Jr. and Richaun Holmes, the other three starters, combined for 9 points, 3/12 shooting, and only Tim Hardaway Jr (12 points) exceeded 6 points, outside the tandem on the backcourt .
