Luka Doncic warms up before the game against the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 26, 2022.
Luka Doncic stepped on a Suns defender’s foot in the first quarter and immediately came up limping in the first quarter of Thursday’s game at Phoenix.
The newly minted All-Star starter left the game the next possession, and the team later announced he would not return to play due to a left ankle sprain. X-rays were negative.
Luka Dončić (left ankle sprain) will not return to tonight’s game in Phoenix.
— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) January 27, 2023
Doncic, the architect of the 64-win Suns’ second-round demise in last season’s playoffs, currently leads the league in scoring at 33.8 points per game. The 23-year-old Slovenian entered the game having just been announced as a Western Conference starter for the 2023 All-Star Game, his third career start and fourth All-Star honor.
The Mavericks, already without big men Christian Wood and Maxi Kleber, came into Thursday’s game tied with Phoenix for sixth place, the last guaranteed playoff spot since the league introduced The Play-In Tournament for teams finishing seventh through 10th.