Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic has been dealing with various injuries in the 2024 NBA Finals. Even though his name has regularly appeared on the injury report during the series, he has yet to sit out a contest.
Recently, he was asked about his health, and he offered a curious response.
Luka Doncic didn’t want to talk about injuries after today’s practice.
“At this point in the season, there’s a lot of things going on. I’m fine. If I’m playing, I’m fine so no worries.” pic.twitter.com/2UBcpxQprg
— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) June 16, 2024
Dallas managed to extend the series by at least one more game, blowing out the Boston Celtics in Game 4. Doncic was at the forefront of the Mavs’ 122-84 victory, scoring 25 of his 29 points in the first half. If his injuries have impacted him, the Slovenian phenom has done an admirable job of masking the pain.
Game 5 shifts the series back to Boston, where a rowdy crowd will likely be itching to let the Mavs hear it. It remains to be seen if Dallas can tune out the noise and escape with a win to bring the team one step closer to achieving a feat that no team has accomplished in NBA history — winning it all after losing the first three games of the NBA Finals.
For the Mavs to even have a slight chance of making history, Doncic will need to continue being his usual stellar self or play even better. Through the first four meetings of the title round, he has averaged 29.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.
If his injuries take a turn for the worse, Dallas will need Kyrie Irving to step up to the plate.
The eight-time All-Star had a rough start to the series. Boston’s defense held him to an average of 14.0 points per match on 35.1 percent shooting in the first two contests. Irving made up for it in Game 3 by registering 35 points, the highest scoring output by anyone in the 2024 NBA Finals. However, it wasn’t enough to give the Mavs a needed win.
It’s also worth noting that Dallas has yet to win at TD Garden this season. As such, the team has a steep hill to climb. But Doncic and company do not appear to have lost hope of hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy this year.
