It’s been 25 years since Michael Jordan had his famous “flu game” against the Utah Jazz in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals, and it appears one of the league’s brightest young stars is quite literally trying to follow in Jordan’s footsteps.
According to a report from TNT’s Allie LaForce, the Dallas Mavericks’ leading scorer, Luka Dončić, vomited and was unable to sleep “even a second” upon returning to the team hotel in San Francisco following a blowout loss to the Warriors on Wednesday.
Dončić scored 20 points in a 112-87 defeat in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, but was held to just two second half points as Dončić went just 1-for-6 from the field in a loss that gave Golden State early control of the series.
Dončić, 23, averaged 28.4 points per game during the regular season and 30.5 points per game in 11 playoff appearances this postseason. Aside from an apparent illness, LaForce reported that Dončić is also dealing with a right shoulder injury that began bothering him in Game 6 of the conference semifinals against the Suns.
The injury didn’t appear to bother Dončić too much in a 33-point Game 6 effort against Phoenix or during his 35-point performance in a shocking blowout win in Game 7, but Dončić appeared to favor his right shoulder at times during the Game 1 loss to Golden State on Wednesday.
LaForce said Dončić told her, “I’m going to tape (the shoulder) up and I’m just going to go,” and that he apparently had a better night of sleep on Thursday after being up all night with an illness following Game 1.
The TNT sideline reporter added that Dončić’s effectiveness on Friday could come down to his “pain tolerance” with both his shoulder and his illness.
As for the official word from the Mavericks? When asked about Dončić’s status on Friday, Dallas head coach Jason Kidd said, “He’s fine. To my knowledge, he was good this morning. He was good this afternoon. I don’t know if he was sick or not, but I think he’s doing fine.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com