DALLAS — Rumors are swirling online about the health of Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic.
Doncic definitely wasn't himself on the court, scoring 20 points on 6-for-18 shooting, which is much lower than his league-leading 33.5 career points per game in the postseason.
Game 1 was aired Wednesday night on TNT, and the network's play-by-play announcer, Kevin Harlan, hinted to a San Francisco radio station that Doncic's performance might be attributed to physical ailments.
“I hear he’s sick today,” Harlan told KNBR’s Greg Papa and John Lund on Thursday. “I guess he was up most of the night and ill. I’ve heard it now from two different people, so I’m assuming it’s probably true.”
Harlan also told KNBR that his sources were not within the Warriors nor Mavericks organizations, and didn’t know if Doncic suffered from the illness during or after the game.
“The body language that he showed, just the zest that he showed in Game 7 [of the Western Conference semifinals] in Phoenix was not there last night,” Harlan said. “And I’m not sure if perhaps he was a little bit under the weather [during the game]. He didn’t play like he played in the Suns series, that’s for sure, and he needed every ounce of what he gives them, and that was not apparent.
Listen to Kevin Harlan speak with KNBR on Luka Doncic below:
“I don’t want to diminish at all what the Warriors did [defensively]," Harlan said. "It was sound and clear cut, there’s no ambiguity there whatsoever. ... I’m just passing along what I heard from two people that he was up all night and sick.”
A high-level NBA source told WFAA's Joe Trahan the reports of Doncic's alleged illness was "news to me." The source – who has been around the Mavericks organization during the playoff run – told WFAA that no one with the Mavs mentioned anything about it and said Doncic looked just fine to him on Thursday.
Game 2 will also air on TNT and tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. CST.
