Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic entered Game 3 of their NBA playoff series vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves averaging 34 points per game through the first two meetings.
Coming into the game, with LA and Minnesota tied with one win each, Doncic suffered an unexpected setback as it was reported by Lisa Salters during the ESPN broadcast that the five-time NBA All-Star was dealing with a stomach bug on Friday.
Doncic’s illness makes his 17-point outing less surprising following the Lakers’ 116-104 loss. However, fans on social media did not seem too concerned about the 26-year-old’s health after the final box score revealed that he had a -16 plus-minus while on the court.
“Luka Doncic just had a average game right…” one fan posted shortly after the game ended.
“Luka Doncic played like a role player,” added another.
Doncic’s final stat line read as 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting (2-of-8 from three), 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 5 turnovers.
Meanwhile, his counterpart LeBron James had a stellar game, putting up 38 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists on 13-of-21 shooting.
“i understand he’s luka doncic but at some point he has to be taken off the floor if he’s not making plays offensively he’s literally just out there bc we all know he is a defensive liability,” said a fan.
“It’s so sad that a Luka doncic bad game every other day is now a regular occurrence. It use to only happen every 6 months or so until last year,” one said.
Doncic, after being traded to the Lakers in February from the Dallas Mavericks, helped guide Los Angeles to the No. 3 seed in the playoffs with a 50-32 overall record. He ended the regular season with his new team, averaging 28.2 points per game in 28 games played with the Purple and Gold.
“Luka Doncic isn’t a winner. Mavs did a great moving him. A 40 year old LeBron carried the team with nothing but a bag of potato chips from Luka. Whine and Cheese from Luka 24/7!” posted a follower.
“The Lakers win that game if they kept Anthony Davis instead of trading for Luka Doncic,” another added.
Now, with Los Angeles trailing the series 2-1, the Lakers will look to even things up on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET from Minnesota’s Target Center on ABC.
