All-Star guard Luka Doncic was all smiles on the bench as he watched his Los Angeles Lakers blow out the Houston Rockets in Friday’s Game 6 to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
The Slovenian star reacted to his team’s win on Instagram by showing love to LeBron James (28 points, eight rebounds, seven assists) and Rui Hachimura (21 points, six rebounds, five made threes) — the two heroes of the Lakers’ 98-78 win.
Doncic also posted a graphic of the Lakers’ final score on his IG stories.
Luka Doncic Dazzles From Sidelines
Doncic, sidelined with a grade 2 hamstring strain since April 2, was the center of attention on Friday despite being on the sidelines.
As seen in the videos below, Doncic turned heads when he made a one-handed trick shot during the halftime break. The Slovenian also channeled his inner coach when he called for a timeout after the Lakers took a 30-18 lead early in the second quarter.
Luka Doncic Injury Update
The six-time All-Star is expected to remain sidelined for the early part of the Lakers’ second-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, which gets underway with Game 1 on Tuesday.
“No timeline,” NBA on Prime’s Casidy Hubbarth said live on the air on Friday when asked to provide a Luka Doncic injury update.
“There has been some progress on the court. He’s now doing some movement work in drills, getting up shots, but it is controlled.
“He hasn’t advanced to one-on-one or full-contact work yet. He’s not into any scrimmages, so it’s a little more than just spot shooting, but still a step away from anything live.”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst also provided a grim update after the game.
“He’s not close,” Windhorst told “SC with SVP” after the Lakers beat the Rockets.
“Most likely you’re not gonna see Luka Doncic at the front end of this series, maybe at least for another week to 10 days on the minimum. So the Lakers are gonna have to face reality, they’re gonna have to do it without (him).”
Luka Doncic Reacts to Lakers Finishing off the Rockets to Advance