Mavs get bad news on Luka Doncic’s injury status

“He’s in pain,” Carlisle said.

“It appeared to me that he couldn’t turn left, couldn’t look to his left, and that’s difficult for a guy that relies on peripheral vision and basically has played his whole life with his head on a swivel.”

Doncic seemed similarly distressed by the injury, but he tried to put on a brave face.

While it’s admirable that Doncic is committed to playing through the pain and being there for his team, the fact that his injury continues to linger is bad news for all parties involved.

Doncic was visibly hobbled on Sunday, going 9-of-24 from the field, 1-of-7 from three-point range and 0-of-5 from the free-throw line. He finished with 19 points, six assists and six rebounds – pedestrian numbers considering what he has been doing thus far in the playoffs.

This has been a topsy-turvy season for the Mavericks. Doncic came into the season fat and out of shape, has been frustrated on multiple occasions, visibly acted out more than once, beefed with a teammate and somehow managed to overcome all of that to steal two games from the Clippers in LA just last week.

But it feels like things are starting to return to the norm, and Doncic’s persistent neck injury will likely serve as the reason Dallas gets an early boot from the playoffs.