Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic was initially listed as questionable questionable for Tuesday's clash against the Los Angeles Lakers with a lower back contusion, per the NBA's official injury report. Despite the injury designation, the Mavs star sounded like he was planning to play during his post-game press conference on Monday.

“Now it's hurting like a… I'm not going to say it, but it's hurting a lot. My knees are swollen like… I gotta get ready for tomorrow,” Doncic said, per Grant Afseth of DallasBasketball.com.

Despite his ailing back and sore knees, Mavs coach Jason Kidd announced during pregame media availability that Doncic will indeed suit up against the Lakers.

Doncic suffered the injury during a stellar performance on Monday night, a 120-113 Mavs win over the Memphis Grizzlies. He finished with 35 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two blocks/steals each while knocking down half of his 10 three-point attempts.

Doncic has been very healthy this season, missing only one game to this point for personal reasons. Monday and Tuesday's games are the Mavs' fifth back-to-back of the season, with Doncic playing in three of the previous four.

Tuesday's contest is the second of three meetings between the Mavs and Lakers this season and the only one in Dallas. The Mavs took the first game 104-101 on Nov. 22 as Doncic led all scorers with 30 points.

The Lakers also have some injury concerns heading into the game with seven players on the injury report. Three of them have already been ruled out, with stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis listed as questionable.

Doncic's availability is especially crucial for Dallas in light of the recent injury to Kyrie Irving. The eight-time NBA All-Star suffered a right heel contusion last Friday and is out indefinitely.

The Mavs and Lakers tipoff from American Airlines Center