Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is expected to play Sunday against the LA Clippers in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series despite a strained neck, a source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Doncic is officially listed as questionable for the game, but Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said Saturday that he thought Doncic would play.
After the Mavs’ Game 3 loss Friday night, Doncic said he started experiencing pain in his neck around halftime, and it went down his left arm.
“It’s just weird,” Doncic said after his 44-point, nine-rebound, nine-assist performance. “Just some massage, some ice and hopefully it will be good.”
Doncic has averaged 38.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 9.0 assists in the series, guiding Dallas to a 2-1 lead.
The Mavs have outscored the Clippers by 25 points in 117 minutes with Doncic on the court in the series and have been outscored by 19 in the 27 minutes he has rested.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon contributed to this report.