Last night, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the LA Clippers 101-90 in Game 3 at the American Airlines Center to take a 2-1 series lead. This game was chippy from the start, as Russell Westbrook became the new villain for Mavs fans as he was ejected from the game.

It was one of those games where Westbrook let his passion go too far, and he was ejected for getting two technical fouls in the same play. He also had a flagrant one foul earlier in the game.

P.J. Washington’s viral moment in which he stood up to Westbrook is flooding everyone’s social media feeds, and the Mavericks’ stars also showed up in this game. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined for 43 points in this game, but the big story surrounding the stars from Game 3 was an injury that one of them suffered in the first quarter.

Jason Kidd gives injury update for Luka Doncic ahead of Game 4

Luka Doncic hurt his knee early in this game and had to go back to the locker room and was struggling to walk normally. This was a scary sight for all Mavs fans in attendance, as their superstar guard looked like he could have been seriously injured.

To everyone’s excitement, Doncic came back out of the locker room and checked back into the game before the first quarter ended. He was met with plenty of cheers when he returned to the floor, but his update on his knee after the game was not exciting at all.

Doncic said that his knee was “not good” for the remainder of the game and said that it was “pretty stiff.”

This was the worst news that Mavericks fans could have possibly received, but Jason Kidd’s update today should make everyone feel a little better.

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Kidd said that Doncic is “good” and that it was “probably stiff but that’s just the morning.”

Later in his post-practice interview, Kidd was asked for clarification for his statement on Doncic being “good” as well as for his status for tomorrow and he answered by saying “he looked good in film and good shooting free throws. So, I’m going to stay in my lane and let the people who put that out do that.”

Kidd not saying that Doncic is available could be him trying to hold his cards close to his chest, or there could be some concern that he won’t play tomorrow (he was officially listed as questionable over the past few hours). Anyone who knows Doncic knows how hard he pushes himself to play, and he’ll likely play unless this injury is serious.

Kidd’s update may not be clear, but reading between the lines and knowing who Luka is as a player and competitor are things to consider when it comes to his availability for tomorrow’s Game 4.

For all the latest on Luka Doncic, Jason Kidd, and the Dallas Mavericks throughout the 2024 NBA Playoffs, stay tuned.