Raptors lose Siakam to adductor injury in 1-point loss to Mavericks
Forward to be re-evaluated in 2 weeks; Luka Doncic paces Dallas with 30 points
Luka Doncic scored 35 points, his eighth consecutive game of at least 30 to begin the season, as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Toronto Raptors 111-110 on Friday night in Dallas.
Pascal Siakam had 18 points for the Raptors but left the game in the third quarter with a likely groin injury, according to head coach Nick Nurse.
On Sunday, the team announced Siakam suffered a right adductor muscle strain and would be re-evaluated in two weeks.
The adductor muscles, attached to your pelvic (hip) bone and femur (thigh bone), pull the thighs together and rotate the upper leg inwards along with stabilizing the hip.
Doncic played 37 minutes and passed the 30-point mark with 18.7 seconds left in the third quarter on a turnaround fadeaway jumper. It was a balanced night for the 23-year-old superstar: 10-for-15 from the floor, 3-for-6 from downtown, 12-for-14 at the free throw line, eight rebounds and six assists.
That included one assist on a spin move through a double team, one basket following a flurry of dribbles between his legs, a hook shot to cap the 16-2 run beginning the second half and the floater late in the third period.
WATCH | Doncic leads Mavericks past Raptors:
"He did everything tonight," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. "Did he go through his legs like eight times? When he shot that little floater, I just kind of chuckled because only he can do that.
"He surprises a lot of people. I wonder if he surprises himself sometimes."
Does he?
"Yeah, sometimes," Doncic said with a smile. "The best play was my hook shot. Those plays are fun. Later you see them on TV. Everybody talks about them."
Doncic leads the NBA averaging 36.0 points per game with 8.6 assists in 36.6 minutes.
Anunoby scored 27 points for Toronto while Chris Boucher added 17 off the bench.
WATCH | Siakam suffers injury against Mavericks:
The Raptors cut a 19-point third-quarter deficit to 108-105 with 35.5 seconds left. Doncic sank the first of two free throws with 15.9 seconds to gain a four-point lead. O.G. Anunoby drove for a dunk with 11 seconds left. Spencer Dinwiddie hit two free throws with 3 seconds to go, making the score 111-107. Anunoby hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Dinwiddie, called for a technical foul in the final minute of the second period, said he was told by a teammate that the official, Tony Brothers, described him with multiple curse words.
"NBA, I would definitely like my money back," Dinwiddie said. "If there's anybody that feels that way about me, they can address me personally, face to face."
"I have to talk to Spencer," Kidd said. "When you look at Tony, what he's done in this league as a referee, he's well liked and also one of the best that we have. That's a sensitive topic."
Fred VanVleet, fourth in the NBA in steals, missed his third-consecutive game with lower back stiffness. Nurse said he thought VanVleet would play after going through a full practice on Thursday.
"I'm expecting him pretty soon to be back," Nurse said.
Mavericks centre Dwight Powell, a Toronto native, made his second start of the season, replacing JaVale McGee in the starting lineup. Powell had nine points and two rebounds in 26 minutes.
The Raptors begin a home-and-home with Chicago on Sunday in Toronto.
With files from CBC Sports
