Dallas Mavericks star guard Luka Doncic sprained his right ankle in practice on Thursday and won’t play against the Houston Rockets on Friday.

Doncic will stay back in Dallas and get a MRI on his ankle:

The Mavs will clearly be cautious with Doncic moving forward since this is the second time this season he has sprained his right ankle, and it’s looking like this injury is similar. The 20-year-old has appeared in 43 games for the Mavs this season and has been nothing short of magnificent. Doncic is averaging 28.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.7 assists while shooting 46.4 percent from the field, 32.1 percent from beyond the arc and 76.3 percent from the free-throw line.

The Mavs are 29-18 on the season. They are in fifth place in the rugged Western Conference standings.

In the post-Dirk Nowitzki era, Doncic is the franchise cornerstone for Dallas. Luka has some help, too, as newcomer Kristaps Porzingis is an All-Star talent tasked to aid Doncic in guiding the Mavs back to the playoffs. Dallas hasn’t been to the postseason since 2016.

As a rookie, Doncic put up 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game while shooting 42.7 percent from the floor, 32.7 percent from the 3-point line and 71.3 percent from the charity stripe. He won Rookie of the Year over Trae Young.

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As expected, Doncic has taken his game to another level as a sophomore, something the Mavs and head coach Rick Carlisle knew was going to happen. The Mavs phenom will be starting in this year’s All-Star Game and figures to be a star in the NBA for the next decade or so assuming he stays healthy.

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