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The Dallas Mavericks won back-to-back regular season games as the Luka Doncic-led side defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 125-112 on Friday night at the Moda Center. With this win, the Mavericks clinched the third spot in the Western Conference standings, however, they suffered a major injury scare as star guard Kyrie Irving left the game late in the second quarter.
Luka Doncic continued his onslaught in the 2023-24 NBA regular season, with his 32-point double-double against the Trail Blazers. The 24-year-old Slovenian is currently the second in this season's scoring leaders list with his 31.8 points per game average, only behind Joel Embiid's 33.1 ppg. Doncic is also among the top five players in the assists leaders this season.
With less than four minutes remaining in the second quarter, Kyrie drove in for a layup and drew out a foul. However, in the process, the 8-time All-Star fell onto the floor, and his teammate Dwight Powell, who took a flight for the rebound, awkwardly fell on Kyrie's right leg. The Mavericks guard was in visible pain after the incident and left the game following his free shots.
Watch Kyrie suffers leg injury:
Kyrie didn't leave in a wheelchair: Jason Kidd
After Kyrie's injury, BlazersTV claimed that the star guard had left the building in a wheelchair, however, the Mavericks head coach, Jason Kidd cleared the air. Kidd denied that Kyrie left the building and claimed it was "just a right foot injury," and said, "All reporting is not factual, is it? Or should we all believe it? I'm not here to interview you, but I think he hasn't left the building. He's still here."
He added, "Just a right foot injury. That's all I can tell you. We'll know more tomorrow."
The Mavericks seemed to be a more promising side this season as compared to the last season when they failed to reach the playoffs after Irving's trade.
