DALLAS — Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic, fresh off a franchise-record 73-point performance, is deemed available for Saturday night’s home game against the Sacramento Kings despite right ankle soreness, coach Jason Kidd said.
Doncic sprained the ankle earlier this month, causing him to miss four games out of a six-game span. He twisted it again in the second quarter of Wednesday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns but still had a historic performance two nights later.
Doncic’s 73 points in the road win over the Atlanta Hawks are tied for the fourth-highest scoring game in NBA history. He also had 10 rebounds and seven assists. It was only the second time in NBA history that a player recorded at least 70 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists, joining reigning MVP Joel Embiid, who accomplished the feat in the Philadelphia 76ers win over the San Antonio Spurs earlier this week.
Kyrie Irving, Doncic’s co-star, is ruled out after missing the previous two games because of a sprained right thumb. Irving suffered the injury early in Monday’s loss to the Boston Celtics and has been wearing a splint since that game.
The fifth-place Kings (25-18) are one game ahead of the eighth-place Mavs (25-20) in the Western Conference standings.
