The Mavs will restart their series with the Clippers on Sunday, facing a Game 6 to extend the series, and like in Game 4 and Game 5 they will have to proceed without the services of star big man Kristaps Porzingis.
Porzingis has been out with right knee soreness for the last two games, but as that has persisted the Mavs decided to have an MRI done on Porzingis to determine if anything structural is wrong that’s bothering him. As it turns out, Porzingis has a mensicus tear in his right knee that will keep him out for the remainder of the first round series, at minimum, with the team announcing further evaluation is ongoing to determine what the next steps are.
The Dallas Mavericks issued the following statement today regarding Kristaps Porzingis. pic.twitter.com/YFNGgWf8dH
— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) August 28, 2020
The right knee is not the same knee that he suffered his ACL tear that ultimately ended his tenure with the New York Knicks, but it is still extremely concerning for a young star that has battled injuries for much of his career thus far. Hopefully for Porzingis and the Mavericks this will be something he can fully recover from for next season, as they look to build off of the momentum of this year. In the immediate, the burden will once again fall on the shoulders of Luka Doncic to be spectacular in Game 6 to try and extend the series to a deciding seventh game.