The Los Angeles Lakers will be without Luka Dončić on Thursday against the Toronto Raptors, with the league’s leading scorer out due to personal reasons, the team said.
Dončić is averaging 35.3 points, 8.9 rebounds and 8.9 assists in 16 games this season and has scored at least 20 points in each of the last two opening quarters for L.A.
The Lakers have won three of the four games they’ve played without Dončić this season.
Marcus Smart (lower back injury management) also will be out against the Raptors.
The game begins a difficult stretch during which the Lakers play three games in four nights – against Toronto, the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers.
While it’s unclear when Dončić will return, the absence isn’t expected to be lengthy.
This next slate comes on the heels of the Lakers losing to the Phoenix Suns, who won the energy and physicality battles on Monday. Those are tests the Lakers are sure to face throughout the trip.
The Lakers are 15-5 and own the second-best record in the West. That marks their best 20-game start since the 2019-20 season, which ended with the franchise’s most recent NBA championship.
