Luka Dončić was in control — he scored 21 points in the first quarter — and the Mavericks were cruising to a win.
Then Dončić went for a dunk, Brandon Ingram slid in for the block from behind, and Dončić hit the ground. Hard.
Luka goes hard and goes down hard! pic.twitter.com/egP0I9BAoL
— MavsHighlights (@MavsHighlights) February 3, 2023
Dončić tried to stay in, but after one more play went back to the locker room and did not return due to what the team called a heel contusion. He could miss a game or two of the upcoming Mavericks’ five-game road trip — which starts with a nationally televised game Saturday in Golden State — according to Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes.
The average time lost for in-season heel contusions in the NBA is ~1.8 games (median = 1 game). Players to suffer the injury include Steve Nash, Jimmy Butler, Jrue Holiday, and Kyle Kuzma.
— Jeff Stotts (@InStreetClothes) February 3, 2023
There likely will be more information from the team over the next 24 hours.
How much the Mavericks need Dončić was on display the rest of this game. The Pelicans stormed back and might have had a chance to tie the game with 3.4 seconds left when a blown call by the referees — Ingram blocked an inbounds pass but was ruled out of bounds in doing so, when he wasn’t — robbed them of that opportunity. Larry Nance Jr. took his shot at the officials for that.
“This play will weigh heavily and cause sleepless nights” https://t.co/E89KZu39E0
— Larry Nance (@Larrydn22) February 3, 2023
With this win, the Mavericks moved into fourth place in the West (ahead of the Clippers, who fell to the Bucks Thursday).
