He's finally back and in MVP form.
After missing the previous five games with a right wrist sprain, Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic returned to the floor on Sunday night against the Portland Trail Blazers. Dallas managed to win four of the five games that Doncic missed with this wrist sprain, and fans couldn't wait to see him return to the hardwood.
While Doncic's 11 days off allowed him to fully recover from his wrist injury, it also allowed him to recover from the knee contusion that caused him to miss one game against the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier in the season. Doncic's knee contusion was the second leg injury of Doncic's young season as he battled a calf contusion for all of the preseason, and it seemed like Doncic was laboring for a decent amount of the early season because of the injuries he was playing through.
Doncic looked fully healthy in dominant performance against Portland
Some Mavericks fans were worried that Doncic wasn't going to be fully healthy on Sunday night or would start slow after missing nearly two weeks of games, but it only took Doncic two quarters of hoops to remove any doubt in fans' heads. He had been working out for a couple of days leading up to the Trail Blazers game, and he didn't disappoint.
Doncic finished with 36 points, seven rebounds, 13 assists, and three steals while shooting 15-24 from the field and 4-10 from downtown in the 137-131 win over the Trail Blazers, and his dominance truly got rolling in the second quarter. This was undoubtedly one of the most dominant games of Doncic's season, and the game came easy for him.
Doncic finished with 15 points, four rebounds, and five assists while shooting 6-6 from the field and 3-3 from downtown in the second quarter, and he couldn't be stopped. His stepback threes were falling, he was getting to the rim with ease, and he was playing with the extreme confidence that makes him unique for the remainder of the game.
Doncic looking fully healthy in this game also allowed him to play at a high pace, and that is exactly what the Mavs needed from him. Playing fast is what helped the Mavs win so many of these games recently, and Doncic picked up right where all of his teammates left off in the win over the Utah Jazz last night.
Doncic pushing the pace is something that he did for most of last season when fully healthy, and he reminded everyone that he can play with this type of pace when an injury isn't holding him back. That was especially evident in the second quarter when he pushed the ball in transition and found teammates for open threes and dunks, and it didn't look like his knee was bothering him at all.
After the game, Doncic said that he thought his pace was "great" against Portland, and now he wants to "keep it going." Doncic saw how great the pace was while he was out, and he wanted to "adapt" to how they were playing once he returned.
It's likely been months since Mavs fans have seen Doncic fully healthy for a regular season game considering the injuries that he has had to deal with over the first quarter of this season, and he showed everyone that his health isn't a worry anymore in the narrow win over Portland.
Doncic played this game against the Blazers with his right wrist wrapped, and his next chance to showcase his dominance will be on Tuesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies at home. It was a huge breath of fresh air for the Mavericks to have him back on the floor, and he looked just like the vintage Luka Doncic who nearly won MVP last year.
It was had to evaluate most of the beginning of the season for Doncic considering the injuries that he was dealing with, and he gave fans a great look at how dominant he can be when he is fully healthy and locked in.
