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Luka Doncic left the Dallas Mavericks’ game against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night with a sprained left ankle and did not return to the game, even though his team ended up winning 99-95.
Mavericks guard Luka Doncic left the game against the Suns after three minutes due to injury
Doncic played just three minutes before limping into the locker room during a timeout. The 23-year-old, who was voted an All-Star for the fourth straight season on Thursday, came into the game averaging 33.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.6 assists.
Doncic was trying to make a move near the basket against Phoenix’s Cam Johnson, but stepped on Mikal Bridges’ foot before passing the ball and limping away. He grabbed his lower left leg before Dallas coach Jason Kidd called a timeout.
The Suns and Mavericks had a 25-24 record going into the game. Spencer Dinwiddie finished with a season-high 36 points, Dorian Finney-Smith added 18 points and 12 rebounds in the Mavericks’ win.
Dinwiddie shot 10 of 18 from the field, including five of six on 3-pointers. He also made 11 free throws.
The Mavericks snapped a six-game losing streak against the Suns in the regular season, though they did beat Phoenix in the Western Conference semifinals in seven games in last year’s playoffs.
Phoenix had its four-game winning streak snapped.
Spencer Dinwiddie led Dallas to a prestigious 99-95 victory with a season-high 36 points.
KNICKS 120, CELTICS 117
Julius Randle had 37 points and nine rebounds and made the free throws that gave the New York Knicks the lead for good in a 120-117 overtime win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
Jalen Brunson added 29 points, seven assists and a game-ending blocked shot for New York, which has won two in a row. Immanuel Quickley finished with 17 points and five rebounds.
Boston’s Jaylen Brown had a chance to put the Celtics ahead with 7.6 seconds remaining, but missed on two free throws, forcing the Celtics to foul.
Jayson Tatum, who was voted an All-Star Game starter for the third straight season before kickoff, finished with 35 points and 14 rebounds. Brown added 22 points and nine rebounds for Boston, which has lost three in a row for the second time this season.
Julius Randle nearly had a double-double with 37 points and nine rebounds against the Celtics
PISTONS 130, NETWORKS 122
Saddiq Bey scored 25 points as Detroit won in Brooklyn for the first time in nearly five years.
Alec Burks added 20 for the Pistons, who snapped a four-game losing streak and were playing for the first time since giving up 150 points in a loss to Milwaukee on Monday.
They took advantage of a shorthanded Nets team playing the second night in a row to win at Barclays Center for the first time since April 1, 2018, ending a six-game skid. They had lost seven in a row overall to the Nets.
Kyrie Irving scored 40 points for the Nets, tying his career high and the Nets’ NBA record with five consecutive games of 30 or more. Nic Claxton added a career-high 27, and Edmond Sumner had 24.
Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving dropped 40 points despite his first home loss against Detroit in five years
KNIGHTS 113, ROCKETS 95
Darius Garland scored 26 points and Evan Mobley added 21 as Cleveland beat Houston shorthanded despite being without Donovan Mitchell.
Garland, the fifth overall pick in the 2019 draft who turned 23 on Thursday, also had nine assists and four rebounds for the Cavs.
Mitchell sat out for the fourth time in five games with a groin strain. He returned Tuesday night after missing three games, but worsened near the end of that game to sideline him Thursday. Mitchell, who ranks ninth in the NBA with an average of 28.3 points per game, was voted the starter in next month’s NBA All-Star Game.
Tari Eason had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead Houston. The Rockets were without Eric Gordon, Jae’Sean Tate and Kevin Porter Jr. as they lost for the second straight time since snapping a 13-game skid on Monday night.
Darius Garland scored 26 points against the Rockets, who have won once in their last 15 games.
BULLS 96, HORNETS 111
Terry Rozier scored 28 points, Mason Plumlee added 21 points and 12 rebounds and Charlotte defeated Chicago.
Gordon Hayward added 17 points, and LaMelo Ball returned from a three-game absence with a sprained ankle and wrist injury and chipped in 15 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to overcome a horrible 2-for-15 shooting performance from field. .
DeMar DeRozan had 28 points for the Bulls, while Zach LaVine finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, but he was quiet in the second half. Patrick Williams scored 15 points, but Chicago’s three-game winning streak came to an end.
Terry Rozier scored 28 points to beat the Chicago Bulls. Demar DeRozan scored 28 for Chicago
SPURS 100, SCISSORS 138
Paul George scored 35 points and Kawhi Leonard added 27 in just three quarters as the Los Angeles Clippers routed the visiting San Antonio Spurs 138-100 on Thursday night to win their fourth straight game.
The contest was the Spurs’ second straight (although both games were in Los Angeles), and they were worse off from attrition, trailing 78-57 at halftime. The 78 points were a season high for the Clippers’ half.
The Clippers increased their lead to 30 points midway through the third quarter before a 10-0 run by the Spurs allowed them to end the period trailing just 23 points. Remarkably, George played in the fourth quarter and helped Los Angeles extend its lead to 32 points before taking the bench at 7:09.
Norman Powell added 15 points for Los Angeles, with Robert Covington scoring 13 and Reggie Jackson and Ivica Zubac adding 12 and 11 points. The Clippers swept the season’s four-game series with San Antonio.
Keldon Johnson hit for 19 points for the Spurs, Isaiah Roby had a career-high 14, Keita Bates-Diop scored 13, Doug McDermott added 11 and Jakob Poeltl scored 10.
Paul George scored 35 points as the Los Angeles Clippers flooded the visiting Spurs