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Clippers Take out the Mavericks to take 2-1 Series Lead
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Luka Doncic left Game 3 between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers early in the fourth quarter with a sprained left ankle. He limped to the locker room almost immediately after initially leaving the game and then returning to Dallas’ lineup. The Mavericks ruled him out of the remainder of Game 3 following the injury with a left ankle sprain.
“It’s not that bad,” Doncic said following the game. “Honestly, I had luck that it was my left ankle. It’s not my right.”
After Game 3, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said that while the severity of the injury is unknown, having Game 4 at 3:30 p.m. ET certainly doesn’t help.
“We’re unsure of the exact severity of Luka’s ankle. One of the good things is, it’s the good ankle, not the one that he’s sprained a few times in the lat couple of years,” Carlisle said. “We’ll know more tomorrow [Saturday], but he came back and tried it of course and was not great. We’ll see where he comes tomorrow and Sunday morning. This match on Sunday is early, which does not make it any easier. We’ll see.”
Luka and the defender turn out to have their legs bent at this station, and Doncic immediately crouched on the floor. As soon as he could get up, he limped into his own room. He placed no weight on his left leg. Minutes later, he came back from the locker room, still pausing but available to re-enter the game.
Doncic missed several games earlier this season with a sprained ankle, but luckily this was not the same. Doncic sprained his right ankle in the regular season. This time it was his left leg that left the injury, although an exact diagnosis is not yet known. He has missed a total of 13 games this season due to several different injuries.
The Mavericks are playing pretty well this season without Doncic, going 7-6 in games he missed. However, the Clippers are a complete beast. The Clippers have a double-edged lead entering the fourth quarter of Game 3, and a win would give them a 2-1 lead. With Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in place, they have a much larger margin for error than any Dallas team that has ever had trouble. Beaten, arguably, the best team in the NBA was already a high order. If this injury compromises Luke? This series will be over.
