Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick confirmed that Luka Doncic was battling an illness before and during their 116-104 Game 3 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.
“He hasn’t been feeling well for the last 24 hours,” Redick told reporters postgame. “I don’t know how much he slept last night. He didn’t feel well last night. His stomach was bothering him. He was vomiting all afternoon.
“I’m not sure what happened at half time, I’ll find out. But he’s really under the weather.”
Doncic, who usually opens the third quarter with the rest of the Lakers’ starters, was not with the team when it emerged from the locker room to begin the second half. However, he rejoined the bench on his own shortly thereafter before subbing in for Gabe Vincent 49 seconds into the second half.
The 26-year-old, who was not on the team’s injury report ahead of Game 3, scored 17 points with eight assists and seven rebounds in 40 minutes Friday but was a minus-16, tied for the second-worst mark in the game. He also shot just 6-of-16 from the floor and 2-of-8 from deep, with his 37.5 field-goal percentage ranking the worst among Lakers players to attempt at least four shots.
Doncic’s 17 points were also his fewest in any game since he scored 14 on Feb. 19 in what was just his third game as a Laker following his stunning midseason trade from the Dallas Mavericks. After scoring 14, 16, and 14, respectively, in his first three contests with L.A., Doncic averaged 29.8 points through the final 25 games of the regular season. He then opened the series against the Timberwolves with 37 points on 12-of-22 shooting in a Game 1 loss, followed by a 31-point showing (9-of-20) to help the Lakers rebound with a win in Game 2.
