Luka Doncic won’t play Friday due to a back injury. The Mavericks will be forced to take on the Pacers without Doncic, who is averaging 28.6 PPG, 8.3 REB, 9.1 AST, and one AST in 35.2 minutes of playing time per game. Doncic leads the teams in each one of those statistics.
It should not come as a surprise here as Doncic was listed as doubtful to play Friday. The best-case scenario for Doncic and the Mavericks would be that he returns to play Saturday versus the Pelicans, but that is far from definite as back injuries can be tricky.