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Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić expects that he’ll continue to receive treatment ahead of Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
Dončić told ESPN’s Malika Andrews on Thursday that he’ll “probably” receive another pain-killing injection before the Mavericks attempt to come back from a 3-0 series deficit (3:40 mark).
Malika Andrews @malika_andrews
Luka Doncic admits he let Dallas down in Game 3, telling his teammates: “My bad, you can’t do that — especially in the NBA Finals.”
Our interview on fouling out for the first time in the playoffs, needing another pain killing shot for Game 4 and trying to make history down 0-3: pic.twitter.com/kRSjL93IHy
The guard has been hampered by injuries throughout Dallas’ current payoff run and previously received a pain-killing shot before Game 2 to treat his thoracic contusion (via Andrews and ESPN’s Tim MacMahon).
The 25-year-old was listed as questionable entering Game 2 against the Boston Celtics due to the thoracic contusion, although he was eventually able to play. He’s also dealt with a right knee sprain since the Mavericks’ third game of the playoffs and has experienced left ankle soreness as well.
Still, Dončić has been able to suit up in every playoff game for Dallas throughout the team’s current postseason run and has helped them emerge as Western Conference champions. In 20 playoff appearances, he’s averaging 28.9 points and 9.6 rebounds to go along with 8.4 assists per game.
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LUKA WINS WESTERN CONFERENCE MVP 🔥🏆 pic.twitter.com/k8m0yS3qZ3
While he’s recording an impressive 1.8 steals each night in the postseason, his defensive performance against Boston has left a lot to be desired. MacMahon wrote on Thursday that Celtics players have blown by Dončić on an extremely high 67.7 percent of their drives against him, per Second Spectrum.
It’s certainly possible that his poor defense has been accentuated by the string of injuries piling up, although things don’t seem to be getting any easier with his expectation of another pain-killing shot prior to Game 4.
It’ll be a tall task for Dončić and the Mavericks regardless, as no team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 series hole. They’ll attempt to keep their season alive against Boston on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
