Is Luka Doncic playing tonight against Minnesota Timberwolves? Latest on 4x NBA All-Star's status (Dec. 28)

Luka Doncic will miss tonight's game between the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Mavericks will play on the second night of a back-to-back. Doncic played 36 minutes in their 113-110 shocking loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday despite being questionable before the game.

Doncic and the Mavericks blew the game late in the fourth quarter. They led by 15 points with 4:58 left in the game, but the Cavaliers staged an improbable comeback to steal the game away from Dallas. The Mavericks missed 10 straight field-goal attempts and turned the ball over thrice as the Cavaliers went on a stunning 15-0 run to complete the turnaround.

Surprisingly, the Cavaliers went on that run only after Doncic returned to the game. He was on the bench for the first six minutes of the quarter. Doncic struggled massively in that stretch as he went two-for-seven. He finished with 39 points, seven rebounds and six assists on 48.3% shooting, but the fourth-quarter meltdown overshadowed another solid statistical outing from the Slovenian.

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What happened to Luka Doncic?

Luka Doncic sustained a quad injury in his left leg. He has been on the injury report for the same for the last game and the Dec. 22 clash against the Houston Rockets. He missed that contest. Doncic has missed one game due to that and two games overall this season.

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Luka Doncic stats vs Minnesota Timberwolves

Doncic has played 14 games against the Timberwolves. He holds an 8-6 record against the Mavericks' conference rivals. Doncic's averaging 24.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.4 assists against the Timberwolves on 44/27/74 splits. Doncic has faced the Timberwolves once this year on Dec. 14. He finished with 39 points, six rebounds and 13 assists but committed eight turnovers in the 119-101 loss.

The 22-7 Timberwolves are healthier and the favorites to win again, as the Mavericks could be without Doncic. The Mavericks are already missing Kyrie Irving and Josh Green, so they are the underdogs even if Doncic plays.

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Mavericks should ideally rest Doncic

Luka Doncic has been healthy and available for the Dallas Mavericks. He's missed only two games this season. The 24-year-old is coming off a grilling summer with Slovenia after participating in the FIBA World Cup. He's averaging 37.0 minutes a game, the third-highest in the NBA.

The Mavericks must offer Doncic some much-needed rest now to ensure his conditioning is where it needs to be towards the end of the season. He's shouldered an extra load in Kyrie Irving's recent absence, keeping the Mavericks afloat as they maintain a decent record to stay five games above the .500 mark.

They enter Thursday's game as the underdogs, so it may not be advisable to play Doncic. However, the four-time All-Star is as competitive as they come, so it won't be surprising if Doncic decides to suit up.