The Dallas Mavericks (17-8) enter Sunday as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. But they soon could see a stumble in the standings.
The Mavs are one of the best teams in the NBA this season as guard Luka Doncic has turned into an absolute superstar. Doncic is averaging 29.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 8.9 assists through 25 games in only his second year in the league.
Doncic, however, is expected to miss at least two weeks after spraining his ankle in Saturday's loss against the Miami Heat. This would put him in line to miss the Mavs' next meeting with the Warriors when Dallas comes to San Francisco on Dec. 28.
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The last time Doncic and the Mavs played the Dubs, the 20-year-old put on a show. He recorded a triple-double with 35 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
Oh, and Doncic didn't even play the fourth quarter during a Dallas blowout 142-94 win over the Warriors.
Luka had more points, assists and rebounds than the Warriors in the first quarter back on Nov. 20 in Dallas. It's no surprise this was Golden State's worst loss in the Steve Kerr era.
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Doncic has played the Warriors five times now in his career. He's averaging 25.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.0 assists over 30.1 minutes per game. Kerr and the rest of the Warriors never wish for an opposing player to be injured, but they won't miss seeing the young star on the floor later this month.