Luka Doncic. Image via: Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
Coach JJ Redick said the guard and Ziaire Williams both woke up sore, a day after Doncic scored 41 points in a loss to Portland. Tuesday’s 136-129 result was the Lakers’ first loss of the year. The reigning scoring champion leads the NBA at 36.0 points per game and has topped 40 points twice in four games. Against Portland, Doncic played 37 minutes and finished with 41 points on 12-of-22 shooting, five rebounds and nine assists. Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler are expected to carry the Lakers against a Clippers team that is 1-2 and has six players out, including Bradley Beal, Brandon Ingram and Rui Hachimura. Williams, Adou Thiero and Cameron Carr are also out for Los Angeles, which beat the Clippers 125-117 last week. 30, and Redick would say only that playing both Doncic and Williams is the hope. 1 and Miami on Nov. 2 finish the five-in-seven run. Doncic missed a short stretch with lower-back tightness in March 2021 while in Dallas, and those episodes cleared in a game or two. The more serious injury was a Grade 2 left hamstring strain in April, which ended the 2025-26 season early and cost Doncic the playoff run.
Because of back tightness, luka Doncic is out for the Lakers’ game against the Clippers on Wednesday night.
Redick said Doncic and Williams both woke up with problems, tightness in the back for one and soreness in the left foot for the other. Los Angeles is calling the move a precaution. It is his first missed game this season, and the Lakers are in the middle of five games in seven days. Luka Doncic is sitting out the second night of the Lakers’ first back-to-back this season. The coach pointed to a tough run of games with little rest in between and kept the explanation short: “Just being overly cautious. The tightness first appeared on the injury report for the second night of the back-to-back, and nothing in the reporting ties it to a particular play. Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton could see bigger roles. The bigger question is Friday. The Lakers open NBA Cup play at Golden State on Oct. Home games against Toronto on Nov. Back issues are not new.