![\"Luka](\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/GettyImages-2202961999-e1741050884795.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=780\")
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The Los Angeles Lakers have bad news after their impressive climb to the second seed in the Western Conference.<\/p>\n
The Lakers announced on Monday, March 3, that Luka Don\u010di\u0107 is questionable to play on Tuesday, March 4, against the New Orleans Pelicans on the road with right knee contusion.<\/p>\n
Don\u010di\u0107 is fresh off averaging 30 points on their twin wins over their crosstown rivals Los Angeles Clippers on the weekend that pushed the Lakers (38-21) past the Denver Nuggets (39-22) for the second seed in the West.<\/p>\n
Don\u010di\u0107 suffered the injury after bumping knees with Clippers guard Kris Dunn during the first quarter of their latest win \u2014 a 108-102 against the Clippers on Sunday, March 2. But he came back to lead the team in scoring with 29 points and tied LeBron James in leading the team in assists with nine.<\/p>\n
Don\u010di\u0107 tried to allay concerns after the win.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was on the fall, I think,\u201d Don\u010di\u0107 told reporters about the knee contusion. \u201cJust a little tight. But then I got kneed in the knee. Third straight game in the same spot, so kind of struggle on that right leg. But I\u2019m good.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Constant hits and wear and tear may lead to a more serious knee injury.<\/p>\n Sunday\u2019s win was Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s eighth game with the Lakers since the shocking trade and the calf injury which sidelined him since last Christmas.<\/p>\n Luka\u2019s Inner Demon Comes to Life<\/strong><\/p>\n Lakers coach JJ Redick did not give any indication that there is something wrong with Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s knee after another sensational performance from the 26-year-old Slovenian star.<\/p>\n Don\u010di\u0107 was back to his old self, screaming and animated each time he made a big play.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just seemed like throughout the game, when we needed a bucket, when we needed him to draw a second, third defender at times, he was able to make the right play \u2014 minus the six turnovers. But he played fantastic tonight,\u201d Redick told reporters. \u201cAnd again, it was that verve and that spirit of competition. But also just something that is \u2014 maybe it\u2019s an inner demon, I don\u2019t know \u2014 but it comes out and it\u2019s fantastic for us when it does.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Lakers guard Gabe Vincent, who scored nine points starting in Reaves\u2019 place, likened Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s stellar playmaking and primal roar to an anime character.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got a guy in your corner going Super Saiyan, for lack of a better word,\u201d Vincent told reporters. \u201cAnd making great plays, hitting shots, it\u2019s a lot of fun. It can give us a lot of life and we\u2019ve been creating a lot of energy on the defensive side. And when he gets hot offensively, we feel like we can\u2019t be stopped in that regard.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The Lakers outscored the Clippers by 19 points when Don\u010di\u0107 was on the court. It was the second-highest plus-minus by a Lakers player in the win next to Dorian Finney-Smith\u2018s plus-24.<\/p>\n Lakers\u2019 Other Injury Updates<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile, the 40-year-old James is listed as probable and is expected to play against the Pelicans, who have won four of their last five games.<\/p>\n Austin Reaves (right calf strain) is also questionable while Rui Hachimura (left patellar tendinopathy), Aaron Goodwin (right ankle sprain) and Maxi Kleber (right foot surgery) remain out.<\/p>\n The Lakers are putting their six-game winning streak on the line in New Orleans.<\/p>\n They have won 16 of their last 19 games to vault from the play-in group to the top two in the West.<\/p>\n But sustaining it with their health issues makes it harder with the third-toughest schedule remaining, per Tankathon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Los Angeles Lakers have bad news after their impressive climb to the second seed in the Western Conference. The Lakers announced on Monday, March 3, that… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39549,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n