DALLAS — After undergoing an MRI on his bruised right heel, Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic will not join the team on its flight Friday afternoon to San Francisco to begin a five-game road trip.
While Doncic will not play in Saturday’s game against the Golden State Warriors, he has not yet been ruled out for the rest of the road trip.
“It’s too soon today to give an update on that,” coach Jason Kidd said. “As we get the MRI, we’ll be able to give an update on status.”
Doncic suffered the injury during the third quarter of the Mavs’ 111-106 win Thursday over the New Orleans Pelicans. He came up limping after a scary fall on an attempted dunk that was blocked by Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram. Doncic collided with New Orleans center Jonas Valanciunas in midair and fell backward, striking his heel hard on the court.
After a timeout, Doncic stayed in the game for one possession before looking towards Kidd and shaking his head, indicating that he needed to exit the game.
Dallas is 0-6 this season in games missed by Doncic, an All-Star starter who ranks second in the league in scoring (33.4 points per game) and sixth in assists (8.2). The Mavs did defeat the Phoenix Suns 99-95 on Jan. 26 when Doncic exited a few minutes into the game because of a sprained left ankle.
“We’re fully capable in this locker room to get wins on this road trip,” Mavs forward Dorian Finney-Smith said. “We’ve just got to figure it out. All we can do is play hard. It’ll give us a good chance to win if we just play defense.”
Mavs reserve forward Davis Bertans will also not join the team on the flight to San Francisco after undergoing an MRI on his strained calf. Mavs center/power forward Christian Wood practiced Friday for the first time since fracturing his left thumb on Jan. 18. Wood, who has missed the past seven games, said he is “ready to go” after getting in a little more conditioning work, pointing to Monday’s game in Utah or Wednesday’s game against the LA Clippers as possibilities for his return.
