Is Luka Doncic playing tonight? Latest news, updates on Mavericks star’s chest injury ahead of Game 2 vs. Celtics :- These NBA Finals are seeing Luka Doncic rack up scores and ailments.
However, he didn’t receive enough assistance from his Mavericks teammates for the second straight game. On a night when the Boston Celtics exerted every effort to deny Dallas the opportunity to steal a game on the road, this occurred.
Is Luka Doncic playing tonight? Latest news, updates on Mavericks star’s chest injury ahead of Game 2 vs. Celtics
With 32 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds after making 12 of his 21 attempts, Doncic recorded his 10th career triple-double in the playoffs and the first-ever triple-double in Mavericks history in the Finals.
On a night when Boston only made 10 of 30 shots from outside the 3-point line, his teammates hit a collective 26 of 59 from the field, and All-Star Jayson Tatum made 6 of 22 shots as Boston won Game 2 105-98.
All of it built up to a two-game hole for the Mavericks heading into Wednesday’s Game 3 of the best-of-seven series in Dallas.
When asked if the Mavs thought they wasted an opportunity to capitalise on the Celtics’ poor performance, Doncic responded, “Every game we lose is a missed opportunity for us.” “To win the game, we must ultimately make shots.”
Dallas, which had won three consecutive games—all on the road—was losing its first Game 2 of these playoffs. The Mavs now have the difficult challenge of playing four out of five games against a Boston squad that has only lost twice this postseason. This playoffs, the Celtics are 6-0 away from home.
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Dallas had trouble from the free throw line (16 of 24) and the 3-point line (6 of 26). Doncic had eight of his team’s fifteen mistakes and was 4 of 8 from the foul line.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd stated, “The little things, you know, we have to do the little things, and that’s part of the game.” “We need to improve as we let those points slip away and struggled with our free throw shooting tonight.”
With a sprained right knee and left ankle, Doncic was originally listed as probable for Game 2 on Sunday morning. However, by the afternoon, his status was lowered to questionable due to the addition of a bruised chest to his list of maladies.
After completing his pregame warm-up, he was cleared to participate. Doncic thinks he suffered the injury to his chest while leading the team in Game 1. Doncic covered his knee and chest with an ice pack during the pregame warm-up.
Doncic stated, “I want to play all the time.” “Therefore, we spent the entire day preparing for the game.”
He scored six of the Mavericks’ first 11 points, and Dallas raced out to a 13-6 lead in the first quarter, so it didn’t seem to faze him at all.
But occasionally, it did look as though he lacked mobility. Later in the first quarter, it was evident when Jaylen Brown, on a fast break, pushed the ball up the floor, crossed Doncic, and then slid by him for a two-handed dunk.
Doncic didn’t let it stop him from playing aggressively, as he scored basket after basket and got into a heated debate with a Celtics supporter sitting courtside.
Kyrie Irving’s play could be the biggest obstacle to Dallas’ chances for the remainder of the series.
Irving improved with 16 points on 7-of-18 shooting, six assists, and two turnovers after finishing Game 1 with just 12 points, the second fewest of his Finals career. However, ten of his points came in the first half, which once more left Doncic isolated in the closing minutes.
“My teammates expect me to make a lot of baskets and take a lot of the load off Luka and the team as a whole,” Irving stated. “Man, it’s on all of us. If you listen to what everyone has to say, I have a good feeling that they will all agree that improvement is necessary.
Compared to Game 1, more Mavericks players participated, with all five of the team’s starting scoring in double figures. It was Doncic’s meagre solace.
“We need to take a few more shots at the end of the day,” he remarked. “I believe that we lost the game because of my turnovers and missed free shots. I must therefore perform far better in those two areas.
