Although Tuesday night was supposed to be all about LeBron James making his long-awaited return, it was Luka Doncic who completely stole the spotlight. The Lakers’ new franchise anchor delivered yet another masterpiece, torching the Utah Jazz for 37 points and 10 assists. But while the stat sheet looked clean, one single moment nearly turned the entire narrative upside down.

Late in the second quarter, what should’ve been a routine fast-break connection between Austin Reaves and Doncic almost became a season-altering disaster. Doncic dished it ahead to Reaves, who tried to return the favor with a lob for a one-two dunk. Before the ball could reach Luka, Utah’s Keyonte George exploded into the picture, skying up to snatch the lob out of the air.

The real danger came in the aftermath. George came crashing down directly under Doncic’s landing space, forcing the 26-year-old to come down awkwardly and tumble out of bounds. At full speed, it didn’t look too dramatic, but the replay told a different story, one that made Lakers fans’ hearts drop, revealing just how close Doncic came to a potentially brutal ankle injury.

In the clip, which has now gone viral, the Lakers point guard can be clearly seen landing awkwardly on the ground. Even though the 26-year-old was able to come out of this play unscathed, that did not stop the Lakers Nation from expressing their concern for their superstar point guard, as they took to social media to put forward their views and also question Austin Reaves’ decision-making.

Lakers Nation expresses its concern for Luka Doncic

What was supposed to be an exciting night for the Los Angeles Lakers supporters could’ve ended pretty badly if Luka Doncic had gotten injured during that play. So, it goes without saying that the Lakers Nation wasn’t too happy with the play, as an injury to the guard would’ve derailed their superb start to the season. “Luka relies on his footwork and balance, minor sprain could impact his game,” a fan wrote.

He pointed out that, given the fact that Doncic relies on crafty footwork to create most of his good looks, even a minor sprain on his ankle could’ve been disastrous. That does make a lot of sense, as L.A. has already been without one of their stars until Tuesday, so they wouldn’t want Doncic on the sidelines now that LeBron James is returning to his full health.

Meanwhile, another fan blamed Austin Reaves’ poor pass for Doncic’s scary landing. “That play pissed me off, Reaves knows better. Luka doesn’t dunk, and you expect him to throw it down like Ayton or Hayes. Luka is the one who is setting the lob threat and shoots the ball,” he suggested. The fan was extremely disappointed with AR, suggesting he shouldn’t have thrown Luka a lob in the first place.

Another fan shared this sentiment as he wrote, “Austin Reaves would’ve been looked at as a war criminal if that happened.” The user stated that if Doncic had gotten injured from this play, the Lakers fans wouldn’t have forgiven Reaves. At the same time, the same play scared a Lakers fan who wrote, “That looks scary O.o” after watching the replay in slow motion.

Nonetheless, another user took a sigh of relief as he claimed that Luka Doncic was really lucky to have come out of this play uninjured. “He got really lucky there,” he commented. Well, that does seem to be the case, as not only was the Lakers’ point guard able to continue after that fall, but he finished the game as his team’s leading scorer.

So, it’s safe to say that Doncic hasn’t sustained any damage from that unusual play. This, of course, is outstanding news for the Lakers, as the Slovenian star has been phenomenal this season, averaging 34.4 points along with 8.9 assists and 8.9 rebounds per game. Now, he and the Lakers will regain their energy yet again as they take on the Jazz for the second time on Monday.