Luka Doncic hamstring injury to test Lakers depth

OKLAHOMA CITY — In the aftermath of their worst loss of the season, few Lakers gamers or coaches had spoken to Luka Doncic after he limped off the court in the third quarter Thursday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Austin Reaves didn’t know the extent of Doncic’s hamstring injury, but he knew how the Lakers famous person would method the latest hurdle in this winding season.

“He’s a competitor,” Reaves said of Doncic, “so he’ll do all he can do to put himself in a position to come back when he can.”

Doncic will bear an MRI on Friday on the left hamstring injury he suffered in a 43-point loss to the Thunder. He already missed 4 video games before the All-Star break with the same injury, but the Lakers withheld expectations on his standing for the ultimate 5 regular-season video games.

After Sunday’s recreation in Dallas, the Lakers face the Thunder at home Tuesday, play consecutive video games at Golden State on Thursday and against Phoenix at home Friday and end the common season April 12 against Utah.

Doncic’s injury left the Lakers backcourt further shorthanded Thursday as Marcus Smart missed his sixth consecutive recreation Thursday. The veteran guard may return against Dallas, coach JJ Redick said. He has been day-to-day since injuring his proper ankle against Orlando on March 21.

If Smart is unable to return in Doncic’s absence, the Lakers may shift even more ball-handling accountability to Reaves and LeBron James while relying on Bronny James as an extra guard off the bench. The 21-year-old James has performed in 5 consecutive video games, tying his longest stretch of his second professional season.

The Lakers (50-27) are already assured a top-six seed in the Western Conference, but are still jostling for seeding. They have a one-game lead for the No. 3 seed over No. 4 Denver, which is on a seven-game successful streak.

Approaching the end of the common season, the Lakers seemed at Thursday’s recreation against the defending NBA champions as a test, ahead Jake LaRavia said. They had been 15-2 in March with 13 wins in their last 14 video games. The Lakers had been enjoying like an advanced type of the group that misplaced by 29 to the Thunder in Oklahoma City in November.

But like that first rout, Thursday’s featured a flurry of Lakers turnovers, suffocating Oklahoma City ball strain and an environment friendly masterclass from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

“This close to the end of the season, we would’ve wanted it not to go that way,” said LaRavia, who had six factors and a team-high eight rebounds Thursday. “It was pretty much the same story, I feel like, the first time we played here this year.”

The Lakers constructed a lot of their March success on profitable revenge performances. They bounced back after earlier losses to the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and the Orlando Magic. They misplaced by seven to the Nuggets on March 5 then responded with 9 consecutive wins, their longest successful streak of the season, including an time beyond regulation thriller against Denver that clinched the head-to-head tiebreaker that may issue into the tight standings.

Redick praised his group’s “playoff mentality” during the run. It was also when the group was largely its healthiest.

Doncic had performed all but one recreation since the All-Star break. Reaves, who missed six weeks with a calf injury this season, has began in 22 consecutive video games. When James returned from an elbow injury, the star trio discovered a clear hierarchy that lifted the group to new heights.

Doncic, who turned just the tenth participant in NBA historical past to rating 600 factors in a single month, is the “head of the snake,” said James, who is averaging just 12.3 pictures in the last 12 video games but is capturing 54.4% from the sphere. Doncic’s sensible March unified the group behind his most invaluable participant push, his thrilling shot-making and even his smiling dunk against Washington.

With the group exuding the sort of pleasure that often characterizes Doncic’s recreation, James believes the Lakers can keep their momentum despite Doncic’s unsure standing and a deflating loss.

“Nothing is rattled,” James said. “It’s one game, it’s part of the NBA season, it’s the defending champions. We get it. We understand.”