"Luka will play Game 4 in wheelchair" - NBA Twitter explodes with memes as Luka Doncic looks heavily bruised after battling Thunder in Game 3

Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks defeated the OKC Thunder in Game 3 of the second round of the playoffs. However, the Mavs superstar looked exhausted after the game as he headed back to the locker room. NBA fans on Twitter flooded the post with memes.

When Dallas Morning reporter Brad Townsend asked Doncic if he was hurting, the Mavs star said:

“I’m just battling out there.”

Reacting to Doncic's struggles, one of the fans wrote:

"Luka Doncic will play Game 4 in a wheelchair at this point."

Alluding to Luka Doncic walking back in pain after the game, some of the fans trolled him saying that he was faking the injury.

"Flopping is hard on a dude," a fan wrote.

Another fan hilariously wrote, "It’s all performative."

"Fake injury," a fan wrote.

However, some of the fans alleged that the Thunder team is attacking Doncic deliberately to win games. A fan also alleged that some of the fouls on Doncic were intentional and perhaps to hurt the Mavs star.

"I'm just saying they're trying to attack that knee at any time. Like even on that steal Chet went through and intentionally hit that knee. Then they tackle him flat on his face," a fan wrote.

Another fan said, "Dallas need to call in NBA office and tell them what is that calls on Luka. They want him to be hurt and not playing anymore games this playoffs or they will protect him?"

Luka Doncic believes Mavs have a chance to get out of the West

The Dallas Mavericks have left behind their early struggles of the regular season and come out as one of the teams to beat in the West. Luka Doncic has been struggling on the court, and despite that, the Mavericks have managed to get into the second round and take a 2-1 lead against the best team in the Western Conference.

Alluding to the Minnesota Timberwolves also taking a 2-1 lead against the defending champions after a 2-0 lead, a reporter asked Doncic if he believes the Mavs have a chance in the West. Doncic said that while he believes in his team, they still have a lot to prove going forward.

"If you're here, you gotta believe. I believe we can, but it’s gonna be hard. We didn't do nothing yet, we won two games,” said Doncic.

So far, the Mavs have been able to win two consecutive games after trailing 0-1 against the Thunder despite Doncic struggling from the floor. In Game 1, Doncic managed to score only 19 points in the loss. He shot 6/19 from the floor and 1/8 from the three-point line.

In Game 3, he was struggling again and shot only 7/17 from the floor and ended the game with 22 points.

Despite Luka Doncic struggling, the Mavs have managed to take the lead in the series. If he can regain his true playoff form, there is no reason to believe that the Mavs wouldn’t be the team to beat, especially with Kyrie Irving on their side.