Why is Luka Doncic out tonight vs Memphis Grizzlies? Exploring Dallas Mavericks star's personal reason for missing home game

Looking at Luka Doncic
Why is Luka Doncic out tonight

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic will miss tonight's game against the Memphis Grizzlies for personal reasons. Doncic and his fiance, Anamaria Goltes, have recently welcomed their daughter into the world. This will be the first game Doncic will miss this season.

Doncic is finally a father after the couple welcomed their newborn daughter, Gabriela, on Thursday. The pair posted a quick snap of their newborn daughter on Instagram and shared it with their followers.

The two recently got engaged after Doncic proposed to his longtime girlfriend over the summer. According to sources, the Mavs star spent $20,000 on flowers alone. Now, they've started a family together after Goltes gave birth.

Explore the NBA Draft 2024 with our free NBA Mock Draft Simulator & be the GM of your favorite NBA team.

Dallas also has Dante Exum out against the Grizzlies for personal reasons. Exum has played 16 games for the Mavs this season as a reserve guard. He's averaging 10.6 minutes for the team and has registered 4.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists.

Doncic, on the other hand, has been stellar for the Mavs. He's been playing lights out, averaging 31.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.9 assists this season. In the most recent update for the MVP race, the four-time All-Star is tied for third place with OKC Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

In their last outing against the Houston Rockets, Luka Doncic gave the fans an all-time great performance. He had 41 points, nine rebounds and nine assists to lead the team to a 134-124 win.

You might also be interested in reading this: Dallas Mavericks Injury Report (Dec 1): Latest update on Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving's availability vs Memphis Grizzlies


Kyrie Irving puts his trust in Luka Doncic, resulting in success

The Mavs (11-6) have been a surprise this season. After trading for Kyrie Irving during the middle of last year's campaign, the team had difficulty getting wins. Many expected them to suffer a similar fate this season, but the duo has turned things around for Dallas, winning games for the franchise.

Irving had a chance to build chemistry with Luka Doncic before the season began, which has helped them play well. Although they started slow, the All-Star pair were able to pick things up and start winning. The 2016 champion credits their trust in each other for their early-season success.

"A lot of trust, and just giving each other confidence and getting out of the mentality of your turn, my turn," Irving said. "You see it too often in our league where it's kind of like the fallback idea as a great player — just let me go get my buckets, let me go get it — it's kind of an imbalance as a team.
"We just started looking at some of our weaknesses. I started looking at some of my weaknesses and where I could improve on the defensive end just trying to get out of a lot of those low percentage plays and just trusting that we could make shots in those tough moments. So just getting off the ball when needed, thinking the game down the stretch, and using our IQ."

Their game plan has been effective, and it looks like they won't be changing their approach anytime soon.

Also read: Is Luka Doncic playing tonight against Memphis Grizzlies? Latest on 4x All-Star's status (Dec. 1)

Mavericks Fan? Check out the latest Dallas Mavericks depth chart, schedule, and roster updates all in one place.

Quick Links

Edited by R. Elahi
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications