INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Luka Doncic is sitting out of the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night because of back tightness.
Doncic is the reigning NBA scoring champion and he leads the league again with 36.0 points per game this season after scoring 41 against Portland on Tuesday night. The Trail Blazers won 136-129, handing the Lakers (3-1) their first loss of the season.
The Lakers are holding out Doncic from the second game in their first back-to-back set of the season as they travel down the I-110 freeway to face the Clippers for the second time in a week.
Lakers starting forward Ziaire Williams is also sitting out with left foot soreness.
Doncic has won two of the past three NBA scoring titles, but he has not played in more than 70 games in a season since his rookie campaign in 2018-19 with Dallas. He was limited to 64 games last season and didn’t return after injuring his hamstring in early April, missing all of the Lakers’ two-round playoff run.
Doncic has played in 96 of the Lakers’ 121 regular-season games since the team acquired him in a blockbuster trade with the Mavericks in early 2025 — and he was sidelined with a calf injury when the Lakers made the trade.
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The Associated Press