The Mavs have officially listed rookie sensation Luka Doncic as questionable for Tuesday night's game against the San Antonio Spurs due to a knee strain, according to a report from ESPN's Tim MacMahon.
Mavericks rookie star Luka Doncic is listed as questionable for Tuesday's game against the Spurs due to a left knee strain. He suffered the injury late in Sunday's loss to the Rockets but finished the game despite limping noticeably.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) March 11, 2019
Doncic gingerly made his way to the bench with just over four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of Sunday's matchup against the Houston Rockets. Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle later stated that the Slovenian-born star appeared to be suffering from a knee ailment. Doncic, who managed to stay in the game, said he felt a “pop,” but Carlisle is hoping the injury isn't serious:
“The hope is that it's not serious,” Carlisle told ESPN during his postgame media availability. “We will know more tomorrow.”
Doncic posted 19 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for the Mavs. However, he went 5-of-16 from the field and 1-of-6 from beyond the arc. In the end, the Rockets walked away with a 94-93 victory.
According to Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com, Doncic received a bit of treatment on his knee during Monday's practice session.
That’s Luka Doncic in the distance getting a left knee strain worked on. He’s listed as questionable for Spurs game Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/1YicdO2VDA
— Eddie Sefko (@ESefko) March 11, 2019
Doncic is clearly an important piece of Dallas' rotation. In 62 appearances with the Mavs (all starts), the 20-year-old shooting guard has racked up averages of 21.1 points on 43.2 percent shooting from the field (34.6 percent from beyond the arc), 7.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.1 steals in 32.2 minutes per outing.
If Doncic is not cleared for Tuesday's game, Jalen Brunson could see an uptick in his usage rate.
Tuesday night's Mavs-Spurs game is scheduled to tip inside the American Airlines Center at 8:00 p.m. ET, with TNT having live broadcast coverage.