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Dave McMenamin
LOS ANGELES — Lakers star Luka Doncic has been ruled out of Saturday’s game against the Golden State Warriors (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC) because of a left hamstring strain, the team announced.
Doncic limped off the court late in the second quarter and was ruled out for the rest of Thursday’s 119-115 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. The Lakers initially described Doncic’s injury as left leg soreness, but head coach JJ Redick said that Doncic would undergo an MRI on his left hamstring on Friday.
There was some optimism on Friday that Doncic is not dealing with a major issue with his hamstring, sources told ESPN.
Following the Warriors game, L.A. has a three-game homestand against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday and Doncic’s old team, the Dallas Mavericks, on Thursday. The All-Star Game is next weekend at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
Doncic led all players in balloting, receiving more than 3.4 million votes to earn an All-Star nod for the sixth time in his eight-year career.
Doncic leads the league in scoring with 32.8 points per game to go with 8.6 assists and 7.8 rebounds. He has missed eight games this season because of various leg injuries, and the Lakers have gone 4-4 in his absence.
With Doncic unavailable after halftime against Philadelphia, Austin Reaves orchestrated a comeback for L.A., helping erase a 14-point third-quarter deficit by scoring 35 points on 12-for-17 shooting in just 25 minutes due to a playing time restriction as he ramps back up from a calf injury. LeBron James shook off a 2-for-9 start from the field to finish with 17 points and 10 assists, but he tied his season high with eight turnovers.
Of the 50 games the Lakers have played so far this season, Doncic, James and Reaves have played together in just 10 of them.
The Lakers also announced that guard Luke Kennard, acquired Thursday in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks for Gabe Vincent and a second-round pick, is questionable for the Warriors game.
Kennard reported to the Lakers’ practice facility Friday to begin the onboarding process with his new team.
