SALT LAKE CITY — Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic will not play in Game 3 against the Utah Jazz Thursday night, according to the team.
This will be Doncic's third straight missed game of the 2022 NBA Playoffs as he continues to deal with a calf strain. The Mavs game against the Jazz is at Vivint Arena in Utah, and tip-off is at 8 p.m. The best-of-seven series is currently tied 1-1.
Game 4 of the series will be Saturday and also in Utah. Tip-off is at 3:30 p.m.
The last playoff game Doncic played happened on June 6, 2021, when he had 46 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds in the Mavs' 126-111 Game 7 first-round loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Mavs had upgraded Doncic to "questionable" Wednesday afternoon. This was the first time the team has labeled him as "questionable" in this year's playoffs. In the previous two games, he was labeled as "doubtful."
On Thursday around 1 p.m., NBA reporter Marc Stein tweeted Doncic was "essentially a game-time decision" for Thursday.
Soon after, ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported Doncic said he was "feeling great" after a post-shootaround session, and then ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that there is "still significant pessimism" that Doncic would be playing Thursday night.
Doncic took some shots and got some 1-on-1 work in during Wednesday's practice, one day before the team plays the Jazz.
Doncic also talked with the media Wednesday, saying he "feels good" and that he has made a lot of progress in the past two days. However, he also said "we shouldn't rush anything" in terms of bringing him back.
"If I'm ready and there's no risk of injury, I'll be out there," Doncic said. "At the beginning, it was painful. Now, it's not really that painful. I'm feeling good right now."
Head Coach Jason Kidd also spoke with the media, saying the team was going to wait to see how Doncic feels Thursday before making a final decision.
"As I've said all week, or the last 10 or 11 days, he's in good spirits," Kidd said Wednesday. "He looks great. He's looked great through the process of rehabbing."
The injury initially happened when Doncic strained his left calf in the third quarter of the regular-season finale against the San Antonio Spurs on April 10. He was then ruled out for the rest of the game.