Lakers star Doncic to miss rest of regular season
The Los Angeles Lakers have secured a playoff berth, but their star player Luka Doncic will be sidelined for the remainder of the NBA regular season due to a hamstring injury.
Doncic, a 27-year-old Slovenian, had been a strong contender for the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award following an exceptional March. During that month, he became only the 10th player in NBA history to score 600 points in a single month.
However, he sustained a grade two strain of his left hamstring during Thursday's significant defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder, which will cause him to miss the final five regular season games.
The Lakers have not announced a timeline for Doncic's return after he underwent a scan on Friday. This injury comes just two weeks before the NBA playoffs commence on 18 April.
Currently, Doncic leads the NBA in scoring this season with a total of 2,143 points, averaging an unmatched 33.5 points per game.
Earlier in the season, he was sidelined for four games due to a left hamstring strain and missed two additional games when he returned to Slovenia for the birth of his daughter in December. These absences mean he is expected to fall short of the minimum games played threshold required to qualify for the NBA's major end-of-season awards.
Doncic is one game short of the 65-game minimum required for award eligibility. His agent, Bill Duffy, has stated that they will apply for an "Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge" to address this issue.
"This season, Luka Doncic has performed at a historic level, leading the league in scoring, carrying the Lakers to third place in the Western Conference and placing himself in the middle of one of the most tightly contested MVP races in memory," Duffy told ESPN.
"To ensure Luka's incredible accomplishments this season are rightly honoured and he can be considered for the league's end-of-season awards, we intend to apply for an 'Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge' to the 65-game rule."
Doncic was named the NBA's player of the month for March after recording 13 consecutive 30-point games. His performances helped the Lakers achieve 13 wins in 14 games before their loss to the Thunder.
Rookie Flagg makes history in defeat
Cooper Flagg, a rookie for the Dallas Mavericks, made NBA history by becoming the first teenager to score 50 points in a single game. Despite his remarkable 51-point performance, the Mavericks were defeated 138-127 by the Orlando Magic.
Flagg, aged 19, scored 24 points in the fourth quarter alone, surpassing his previous career high of 49 points set in January.
However, the loss marked Dallas' 14th consecutive home defeat.
"It's always fun getting into that type of mode," Flagg said.
"The basket feels big. But I like to win. That was my main focus. It's hard for me to fully enjoy myself out there when we're down 20, down 10, down 15, for the majority of the game."
