Lakers star Doncic will miss the rest of the regular season
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic will miss the remainder of the NBA regular season due to a hamstring injury.
The Slovenian, 37, had put himself in contention for the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award during a remarkable run in which he became just the 10th player in history to score 600 points in a single month.
Announcement
But he will miss the final five games of the regular season after suffering a grade two strain in his left hamstring during Thursday’s heavy loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Lakers did not provide a timetable for Doncic’s return after he underwent a scan on Friday, just two weeks before the April 18 start of the NBA playoffs.
Doncic is the NBA’s leading scorer this season with 2,143 points for an unmatched average of 33.5 points per game.
However, after being sidelined for four games with a left hamstring strain earlier in the season and missing two games to return to Slovenia for the birth of his daughter in December, Doncic is set to fall short of the minimum threshold of games required to qualify for the NBA’s major end-of-season awards.
Announcement
Doncic, who is just one appearance short of the required 65, will apply for an “Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge,” according to his agent Bill Duffy.
“This season, Luka Doncic has performed at a historic level, leading the league in scoring, leading the Lakers to third place in the Western Conference and placing himself in the midst of one of the closest MVP races in memory,” Duffy told ESPN.
“To ensure that Luka’s incredible achievements this season are rightly honored and that he can be considered for the league’s end-of-season awards, we intend to request an ‘Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge’ to the 65-match rule.”
Doncic was named Player of the Month for March after 13 consecutive 30-point performances that helped the Lakers post 13 wins in 14 games before losing to the Thunder.
Announcement
Rookie Flagg makes history with the defeat
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Cooper Flagg became the first teenager in NBA history to reach 50 points in a game, but that wasn’t enough to earn the Dallas Mavericks a win over the Orlando Magic.
Flagg, 19, scored 51 points — including 24 in the fourth quarter — surpassing his previous career high of 49 in January.
But the 138-127 loss handed Dallas its 14th consecutive home loss.
“It’s always fun to get into that kind of mode,” Flagg said.
“The basket looks big. But I like to win. That was my main goal. It’s hard for me to fully enjoy myself out there when we’re down 20, down 10, down 15, most of the game.”