Luka Doncic exits Mavs' victory with right heel contusion

The Mavericks' superstar suffered an awkward fall in the 3rd quarter and did not return.

Associated Press

February 3, 2023 3:36 AM

Luka Doncic scores 31 points before leaving midway through the third quarter.

DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks barely held on after leading by 27 points when Luka Doncic exited the game with a right heel injury on a hard fall.

Doncic scored 31 points before leaving midway through the third quarter, and the Mavericks survived a 16-point fourth quarter without him in a 111-106 victory Thursday night, handing the travel-weary Pelicans their 10th consecutive loss.

Doncic stayed in the game after taking a hard fall when he was winding up for a one-handed dunk and Ingram knocked the ball out of his hand as Doncic was bumped by Jonas Valanciunas.

Luka headed to the locker room after this fall pic.twitter.com/K0X0jRV0rU

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 3, 2023

Ingram was called for a foul, and New Orleans successfully challenged. Doncic returned after the break for the review, but after one trip down the court, the 23-year-old star screamed in frustration as he limped to the locker room without looking at the Dallas bench.

“We’ll see how he feels tomorrow,” coach Jason Kidd said. “I think no matter what the score was, he wasn’t coming back.”