![\"Luka](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2255942529-1-e1768739742179.jpg\")
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Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) walks back towards his bench during the fourth quarter of a NBA game against the Charlotte Hornets at Crypto Arena on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026 in Los Angeles , CA.<\/p>\n
Superstar Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic sat out Saturday\u2019s 132-116 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> with left groin soreness. Fortunately for the Lakers, their best player isn\u2019t expected to be sidelined for a significant time.<\/p>\n Lakers head coach JJ Redick provided a Luka Doncic injury update on Saturday, noting that an MRI on the Slovenian \u201cwas good\u201d and that he was day-to-day with the injury.<\/p>\n JJ Redick said the MRI on Luka Doncic\u2019s groin was \u201cgood\u201d and he will be day-to-day going forward. LAL plays the second night of a back-to-back Sunday against Toronto<\/p>\n JJ Redick said the MRI was good on Luka Don\u010di\u0107 (groin), and that his missing tonight\u2019s game was more an accumulation of his playing 3 games in the previous 4 nights. <\/p>\n He\u2019s day-to-day moving forward.<\/p>\n Ayton (knee) is also day-to-day.<\/p>\n Lakers Injury Woes<\/p>\n The injury-ravaged Lakers were also without starting center Deandre Ayton (knee), Jaxson Hayes (hamstring) and Austin Reaves ( grade 2 left gastrocnemius strain). While Reaves is expected to be reevaluated in a week \u2014 nearly a month after he sustained his calf strain in the Christmas Day loss to the Houston Rockets<\/a> \u2014 Ayton and Hayes are considered day-to-day with their injuries, according to Redick.<\/p>\n As a result of their injuries, the Lakers\u00a0were forced to start Maxi Kleber at center on Saturday, while G-Leaguer Drew Timme backed him up off the bench.<\/p>\n Redick highlighted that Saturday\u2019s loss marked the 19th different starting combination<\/a> he has been forced to use through 40 games due to the injuries.,<\/p>\n \u201cThis has been our season,\u201d Redick said of his team\u2019s injury woes, via LA Times\u2019 Broderick Turner.<\/a> \u201cYou get one guy healthy, another guy gets injured. You get one guy back and another guy gets injured. Two guys go out tonight and you play without your two centers. So, it\u2019s been our season.\u201d<\/p>\n Lakers Find a New Gem?<\/p>\n LeBron James, who finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the loss, refused to cite injuries for the Lakers going 4-6 in their last 10 games.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, nobody is feeling sorry for us, nor are we looking for it,\u201d James said of the Lakers injury issues.<\/p>\n \u201cThe guys that are available, we got to go out there and play our game, play the way we want to play offensively and defensively and just try to right the ship until we get whole.\u201d<\/p>\n The one major positive coming out of Saturday\u2019s loss was the performance of Drew Timme, who had 21 points (9-of-12 FG) and four assists from 29 minutes off the bench. James had a lot of praise for the sharpshooting big man, noting that he could build off Saturday\u2019s performance if the Lakers give him more chances.<\/p>\n Timme wasn\u2019t surprised by his showing, stressing that he was ready to shine when his number was called, which he did.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great to see all the work you put in,\u201d he said, via Spectrum SportsNet.<\/a> \u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of the G-League. When or if I\u2019m ever needed, I\u2019m ready.\u201d<\/p>\n Drew Timme speaks about his career-high 21 points and how the G League prepared him for this moment. LeBron James said that Timme\u2019s night, despite the loss, can help LAL in the long run \u201cif we continue to play him\u201d <\/p>\n Drew Timme tonight for the Lakers:<\/p>\n 21 Points \ud83d\udd25 <\/p>\n The Lakers (24-16) will next face the Toronto Raptors<\/a> (25-18) on the second night of a back-to-back on Sunday night. All indications are that Luka Doncic will be cleared to play, though the same can\u2019t be said for Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tSai Mohan<\/a> covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lakers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) walks back towards his bench during the fourth quarter of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":244892,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-244891","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n4 Assists
\n2 Rebounds
\n2 Steals
\n9\/12 FGM
\n3\/4 3PM
\n29 Minutes <\/p>\n