Could Lakers have avoided Luka Doncic hamstring injury after first-half scare?

Murphy’s Law states that everything that could go wrong will go wrong. On Thursday night, the Los Angeles Lakers experienced this firsthand. Not only did they crumble yet again on national television en route to a blowout loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder, this time by 43 points, 139-96, they also lost talisman Luka Doncic to a serious-looking hamstring injury in the third quarter.

Doncic had apparently begun feeling some discomfort in his hamstring in the first half of the Lakers’ clash against the Thunder. But as per head coach JJ Redick, the Lakers medical staff checked on Doncic and gave him the green light to suit up in the second half — paying the price in the process by aggravating his hamstring injury.

“We checked him out, he got worked on, he was cleared… We’re not gonna put a player at risk,” Redick said in his postgame presser, via Oh No He Didn’t on X (formerly Twitter).

"We checked him out, he got worked on, he was cleared… We're not gonna put a player at risk."

JJ Redick following Luka Doncic's hamstring injury pic.twitter.com/Q9bMn1toqq https://t.co/VeQFW9esOp

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 3, 2026

Be that as it may, the game was out of reach for the Lakers to start the second half. While that is too early in a ballgame to pull the plug, was there any point in trying to mount a comeback against the reigning champion while down over 30 points away from home?

This injury is rather unfortunate for Doncic and the Lakers, and one that LA could not have planned for, but questions will be raised regarding their handling of their best player should this hamstring injury prove to be more serious than anticipated.

Lakers fall flat against the Thunder yet again

The Lakers have been far too turnover-prone and lackadaisical in their games against the Thunder this season, and they have paid the price in the form of two embarrassing national television defeats.

LA, in fact, has struggled against the top teams in the NBA, and that does not bode well for their chances of making it deep into the playoffs, especially in the aftermath of Doncic’s hamstring injury.

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