Luka Doncic expressed confidence he would recover quickly after twisting his right ankle late in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 123-112 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.
The injury occurred with 4:23 remaining when Doncic landed on Kyle Kuzma’s foot while converting a step-back shot that became a three-point play. He remained on the floor briefly in discomfort, then rose to attempt his free throw before heading to the locker room.
Los Angeles held a 114-90 advantage at the time. The Lakers improved to 11-2, the best record in the NBA, and extended their winning streak to seven games.
Doncic finished with 32 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in 32 minutes. He shot 10 of 25 from the field, including five of 12 from three-point range, and made seven of 10 free throws.
“Obviously painful a bit but I’ll be fine,” Doncic said after the game.
Coach JJ Redick offered a similarly positive assessment during his postgame news conference.
“Luka, I think is fine. Just a light tweak,” Redick said.
Doncic entered the contest leading the NBA in scoring at 39.3 points per game. He has now scored at least 30 points in each of his last nine appearances and continues to power one of the league’s most efficient offenses.
The Lakers have managed his workload carefully at times this season, including holding him out of a Nov. 8 game against Detroit because of lower-back tightness. He returned the next night and has been available since.
While Doncic’s situation appears manageable, the team faces more uncertainty with Austin Reaves. The guard left in the third quarter with a left heel injury and did not return.
Reaves scored 18 points with five assists, three rebounds and three steals in 25 minutes. Initial X-rays were negative, but further imaging was scheduled for Thursday.
“His X-rays were negative. We’ll get imaging tomorrow. Probably no update besides that,” Redick said.
Collin Sexton also exited after absorbing a blow to the head that required sutures. Redick indicated Sexton would have remained on the floor late instead of Doncic had the incident not occurred.
Los Angeles next faces the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, providing several days for evaluation before either Doncic or Reaves is expected to return. The Lakers have already navigated short-term absences for Doncic, Reaves and Quentin Grimes during their current streak.
Doncic’s production has been central to the team’s fast start under Redick. Through the first portion of the season he has averaged roughly 39 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists while shooting near 50 percent from the field.
His availability for Sunday has not been formally confirmed, though both his comments and Redick’s description of a minor tweak suggest the Lakers anticipate limited impact.
The Bucks, meanwhile, fell to 1-11. Milwaukee led briefly early but trailed by double digits for most of the second half as the Lakers pulled away with balanced scoring that included 23 points from Sandro Mamukelashvili.
For now, the focus in Los Angeles remains on the imaging results for Reaves and the recovery timeline for Doncic’s ankle. The early returns point to both players being ready after the short break.
