Is Luka Doncic playing tonight against Detroit Pistons? Latest on Mavericks guard's status (April 12)

The Dallas Mavericks have ruled out Luka Doncic after listing him as questionable on their injury report for the upcoming contest against the Detroit Pistons, which marks their second and final matchup of the season series. The fixture is a part of NBA's 15-game lineup.

The Detroit Pistons have struggled in recent outings and enter the game on a five-game losing skid. Their woes extend to the road, dropping their previous four away matchups. They will aim to halt both streaks with a victory on Friday.

The Dallas Mavericks have been riding a wave of success in the past week and head into this game on a five-game win streak. Positioned fifth in the Western Conference standings, they trail the LA Clippers by a single game and seek to narrow that gap with a victory Friday.

Dallas maintains an impressive scoring average of 118.6 points per game. In its most recent outing, it tallied 111 points, shooting at a solid 49.4% from the field and 34.1% from beyond the arc.

Leading the charge for the Mavericks was Luka Doncic, who contributed 29 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Kyrie Irving notched 25 points, three rebounds and four assists. They were supported by P.J. Washington's 12 points and six rebounds.

What happened to Luka Doncic?

Luka Doncic's ongoing battle with right knee soreness led to a change in his status from doubtful to out for the game against the Warriors. Before this, the 25-year-old dealt with left Achilles soreness in the four preceding games. He has now sidelined from the game after being listed on the injury report with an ankle injury for Friday's matchup.

The demanding role of leading the Mavericks' offense appears to have taken its toll on their star player. This became evident when the Slovenian guard suffered a hamstring injury during their second matchup with the Golden State Warriors, a hard-fought 109-99 win on March 13.

Doncic left for the locker room during the fourth quarter, signaling he wouldn't return to the court. As a result, he also sat out the following game against the OKC Thunder.

Doncic has faced multiple injury setbacks this season. On Feb. 5, he suffered a significant injury when he broke his nose during a game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Just a week later, during a matchup with the Washington Wizards, he encountered another obstacle as he endured a facial injury from an elbow, requiring urgent assessment.