OKLAHOMA CITY — There wasn’t much said to Luka Dončić as he limped out of the locker room late Thursday night. There wasn’t much, frankly, to say.
The Los Angeles Lakers, facing their biggest test since they announced themselves as serious contenders with a 15-2 March record, had completely blown it. This wasn’t just them getting a missed assignment here or there wrong. This was the Oklahoma City Thunder snapping the Lakers’ pencil before they could even start the test.
Had Dončić not limped out in the 139-96 loss, had he merely walked out of Paycom Center humbled and humiliated, there would be a different story to tell. Sure, the morning debate shows would have cooked the Lakers, and rightfully so. Contenders don’t lose big games like this, trailing by 23 in the first quarter, by 35 in the second, 45 in the third and 46 in the fourth. Right?
But that kind of reaction doesn’t allow for nuance — the kind that remembers the Lakers punishing the Thunder here last April, when Dončić and the Lakers won a 27-point laugher after leading by 22 at the half.
That triumph didn’t define the Lakers’ season — they were out in the first round in five. And it sure didn’t define the Thunder’s, the championship banner hanging in their arena proof that a late-season blowout loss is no reason to write the obituary.
Too many turnovers. Too many missed shots. Too little early-game intensity could conceivably be corrected. But because Dončić limped out, the Lakers left with bigger problems than a lousy 48-minute performance.
If everything didn’t change in the third quarter Thursday when Dončić fell to the ground, everything at least got scarier with the door rapidly shutting on their regular season. After grabbing at his hamstring late in the first half, Dončić tossed the ball out of bounds, felt some kind of pain in the back of his left leg and quickly crumpled to the floor, covering his face in frustration before hobbling to the back. His night was over, and perhaps his MVP campaign too.
Afterward, LeBron James and Austin Reaves said the right things about what comes next.
“Losing always sucks. It doesn’t matter if you lose by one or 50, a loss is a loss,” Reaves said.
“Nothing has changed. We still will be (together),” James said. “Obviously, we’ll be tested. … We’ll make no conclusions, but we’ll see what happens with him. And then we’ll go from there. But nothing is rattled. It’s one game, it’s part of the NBA season, it’s the defending champions. We get it. We understand.”
But inside the locker room was an unspoken understanding that things could be grim even if they mostly put on a brave face as the momentum they’ve built is in peril.
Because Dončić didn’t walk out. He limped.
And on Friday, he’ll undergo an MRI that will begin to clarify a timeframe for his return. Without him, the Lakers will limp into their final five games of the regular season, and most importantly, into the playoffs.
Reaves added a new injury of his own Thursday. After overextending for a loose ball during the first quarter, he immediately grabbed his left side and went to the locker room for treatment, returning in the second quarter. And whenever he strained to make a play, whether it be a full-court pass, a 3-point shot or even some lateral defensive movement, his left hand reached for his back.
“We’ll see,” Reaves said.
Already dealing with a wrist injury and a lengthening list of lower-body issues, Reaves may not be the most logical option to pick up a larger load should Dončić miss extended time. Both he and Dončić received treatment and were cleared to play, coach JJ Redick said.
“I mean, it was discussed at halftime,” Redick said of potentially shutting Reaves down. “Thought we’d give those guys about six minutes, and then … if we didn’t cut in the lead, we were gonna pull them.”
The Lakers’ healthiest option, perhaps, might be the 41-year-old James. But he has settled into a complementary role and would need to make a pretty significant physical and stylistic shift to replace Dončić as the head of the offense.
“At this point, at this juncture of the season, it’s the last thing you want to see,” James said of Dončić’s injury. “Especially anybody on our team, but when you have an MVP candidate on your team, the last thing you want to see is somebody go down with a hamstring injury.”
While the Lakers have assured themselves a top-six seed in the Western Conference, homecourt advantage in the first round is still in play. Luckily for them, they’ve already secured tiebreakers against their pursuers.
“There’s never a time to get comfortable in this league. The only thing we do know is that we won’t be in the Play-In, so we have that week. But health is wealth,” James said. “Obviously, we’re already without Marcus (Smart, ankle) right now and now Luka. We don’t know what the timetable is, but obviously, we’ll see. We’ll see what happens.”
We know, for sure, what didn’t happen on Thursday: The Lakers didn’t assuage any doubts people might’ve had about the legitimacy of their contendership. They didn’t, as staffers had privately hoped, vault Dončić further up the MVP ballots. And they didn’t exit the court with clear minds about the future.
For the first time in more than a month, the Lakers don’t know what comes next.
And that uncertainty is worse than any margin on the scoreboard.