Dave McMenamin
MINNEAPOLIS – Luka Doncic suffered from a stomach ailment in the 24 hours leading up to the Los Angeles Lakers’ 116-104 Game 3 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves and was “vomiting all afternoon” leading up to tipoff, according to Lakers coach JJ Redick.
Doncic, who averaged 34 points, 10 rebounds and five assists through the first two games of the series, was limited to 17 points on 6-for-16 shooting, seven rebounds, eight assists and five turnovers Friday.
“Obviously, with his illness, it impacts our team,” said LeBron James, who led L.A. with 38 points, the most in NBA postseason history by a player over age 40. “We understand what he brings to our team and what he’s done since the acquisition. It definitely took a big blow for our team.”
Doncic was experiencing an upset stomach and chills Thursday, sources told ESPN. Redick said it affected Doncic’s sleep Thursday night. Doncic attended the Lakers shootaround Friday morning, and after a nap Friday afternoon still felt off, sources told ESPN.
He underwent treatment from the Lakers’ medical staff after the loss, which put the Wolves up 2-1 in the series, but did not speak to reporters.
After getting off to fast starts in the first two games of the series, averaging 16 points in the first quarter, it was clear Friday that Doncic was limited, scoring just two points on 1-for-6 shooting (0-for-3 on 3-pointers) in the opening frame.
In the second quarter, Doncic pulled the hood on his warmup jacket tightly over his head on the bench after he was subbed out.
Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith said he doubted Doncic would be able to continue playing after halftime.
“I didn’t think he was going to come out [for the] second half,” Finney-Smith said. “Just because how he sounded. His body language. How he looked. He looked a little pale today. He probably needs to hydrate some more. But like I said, Luka’s tough.”
Doncic stayed in the game, however, contributing nine points on 3-for-7 shooting, five rebounds and three assists in the second half. He also committed three turnovers, including one when Wolves center Rudy Gobert stole the ball from him on the perimeter in nearly the exact spot on the court that Doncic hit a game-winning 3 against him in last year’s Western Conference finals.
“He gave it everything he had tonight and played 39, 40 minutes, did everything he could do to help us win,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves, who had 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four turnovers. “We had an opportunity. It was a one-possession game with three minutes left, and yeah, we just couldn’t get it done.”
The Wolves closed on a 13-1 run to pull away with the victory.
Other than Doncic’s individual struggles, L.A. failed to protect the ball, committing 19 turnovers resulting in 28 points for Minnesota.
“In the postseason, obviously you’re not going to play a perfect game,” James said. “But the more that you make mistakes on top of mistakes, on top of mistakes — things that can be controlled — then it’s not going to give you an opportunity to be in the best possible chance to win.”
There is a quick turnaround for Game 4, with a 2:30 p.m. local time tip Sunday.
“Hopefully, whatever’s going on, he’s feeling better on Sunday,” Redick said. “I mean, I can’t [diagnose him]. I’m not a doctor.”
