The Dallas Mavericks extended their winning streak to four with a hard-fought 109-99 win against the Golden State Warriors. However, the celebrations were soon dampened as the same game saw their strongest soldier go down. With 6:46 left to play, Luka Doncic landed awkwardly after an alley-oop lob to Daniel Gafford. This is what is believed to have caused his hamstring issue, leading him to leave the game early in the fourth quarter.

The pressing question now is whether the Slovenian phenom will suit up tonight as the Dallas Mavericks go against the second-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in tonight’s nationally televised game. According to Dallas Morning News sports reporter Brad Townsend, Luka Doncic is ruled out for Thursday’s game versus the Thunder since he stayed back in Dallas while the rest of the team traveled to OKC last night.

Head coach Jason Kidd didn’t provide more information on the severity of Doncic’s injury, only sharing that he’s undergoing more tests to get an assessment of his condition. Kidd did call Doncic’s injury a sore hamstring. He said, “I’ll have a better answer tomorrow. We’ll see. This is a fluid thing. This is being talked about now. We’ll find out in a couple of minutes if he’s going or not.” Along with Luka, Dallas will also miss the services of guard Brandon Williams, who is dealing with a wrist injury.

Without Luka in the lineup, the Mavs will face a stern test against one of the best teams in the league right now. While Dallas is entering the contest on a three-game double-digit winning streak, OKC is coming off a disappointing 121-111 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.

Therefore, they will be even more desperate for a win in what will be their third meeting with Dallas tonight. Adding to the intrigue, the Shai-Gilgeous Alexander-led squad will also try to get an upper hand in the season series, as they are 1-1 after last month’s humbling 146-111 loss to Dallas. Thus, Dallas will miss Luka’s offensive input as they try to secure a win and climb to the seventh spot in the West.

Luka Doncic’s impressive averages this season

The 5-time All-Star has been nothing short of exceptional this season. Luka Doncic is posting impressive averages of 34.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 9.8 assists, with a shooting efficiency of 49.4% from the field and 37.8% from beyond the arc. Dallas has struggled in the eight games Doncic has missed, with a losing record of 3-5 compared to their strong 35-23 record when he’s in the lineup.

Doncic currently leads the league in scoring and rebounds, while ranking third in assists per game among guards this season. Unfortunately, the injury setback also ended his seven-game, 20-point triple-double streak. However, despite his success this season, he is still trailing behind Nikola Jokic and SGA in the MVP ladder.

While Luka Doncic’s individual statistics have been exceptional, they haven’t translated into his team’s success this season. They are still stuck in the play-in region, in the 8th spot in the West, with 38 wins out of 66 games this season so far. With 16 games remaining this season, do you think the Mavs can make the playoff push? Let us know in the comments!

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