The Los Angeles Lakers had some injury questions going into their Tuesday night battle against the Atlanta Hawks. Luka Doncic was among those on the injury report.
Following the Lakers' Monday night action against the Sacramento Kings, Doncic revealed to reporters that he nearly sat out. That quickly put his status for Tuesday's game in question.
As expected, Doncic was officially listed as questionable on the NBA's injury report due to groin soreness. He went through his pregame warmups as usual and received clearance from the Lakers' medical staff to face the Hawks.
After the game, he revealed to reporters that he wasn't feeling 100 percent. Despite that fact, Doncic made it clear that he always wants to play.
“It’s a little bit worse than yesterday, but I’ll be fine," he finished.
On the second night of the back-to-back set, Doncic checked in for 33 minutes. He shot 7-16 from the field, knocking down five of his nine three-pointers.
From the charity stripe, Doncic went 8-10. He ended up scoring 27 points, coming second to LeBron James. Along with his scoring, Doncic racked up the double-double with 12 assists. He also had five rebounds.
The Lakers defeated the Hawks 141-116.
Doncic will be a player to monitor for LA moving forward. While the recent setback hasn't taken him off the floor, Doncic has made it clear that he's not fully himself. The 26-year-old is a critical piece to the Lakers' success during his first full year with the team.
In the 30 games leading up to Tuesday's action, Doncic has been shooting 46 percent from the field and 32 percent from three. He is posting a league-high 33.6 points per game, while producing 8.7 assists and 8.0 rebounds.
The Lakers will get one day off before returning to the court on Thursday to take on the Charlotte Hornets. Doncic's status for that game is unclear.
For all the latest NBA news and rumors, head over to Newsweek Sports.
Newsweek