Lakers' Luka Doncic hurts left hamstring in a blowout loss to Thunder with MRI set for Friday
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic injured his left hamstring on Thursday night and coach JJ Redick said the league's scoring leader will have an MRI on Friday.
Redick said Doncic had an issue with the hamstring in the first half of the 139-97 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and was tended to at the break.
“We checked him out, he got work done, he was cleared," Redick said.
Doncic returned to action briefly. On his final play of the game, he spun before trying to go up for a shot against Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams. There was no contact before Doncic stopped, then lay down on the floor while wincing in pain. He left the game for good with 7:39 remaining in the third quarter.
“Those things happen,” Redick said.
Williams, an All-Star in 2025, has missed 27 games this season because of a right hamstring strain. He felt badly for Doncic.
“It’s very, like, spooky in a way to see it happen to him, and I’m the one guarding him," Williams said.
Williams could have stolen the ball after Doncic let it go, but he chose not to take advantage of the situation.
“I tried to let it go out of bounds and give them time to figure it out,” Williams said. “That injury sucks. So I wish him a speedy recovery. Hope it's not anything serious.”
Doncic had scored at least 40 points in five of his previous seven games. He was held to 12 on 3-for-10 shooting against Oklahoma City's relentless defense.
The Lakers trailed 90-58 when Doncic was hurt, so the injury made a bad night worse.
“I mean, it’s something you never want to see as a teammate,” Lakers forward Jake LaRavia said. “So especially in a game like this, it was tough to see him go down. All the prayers for him ... but yeah, you never want to see that.”
Lakers guard Austin Reaves hurt his back during the game, but continued to play. He sat out the fourth quarter with the game out of reach.
“He was in a weird position, stretching for a basketball, loose ball," Redick said. "And he just felt something intercostal, somewhere in his back, in between the ribs. He was able to play through it ... we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”
The Lakers will host a rematch with the Thunder on April 7.
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