Luka Doncic leg injury overshadows Lakers' win over 76ers

Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times on Feb 6, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

LOS ANGELES — The biggest news for the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday was that all-star guard Luka Doncic was unable to play in the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers because of left leg soreness, the team announced in the third quarter.

Doncic left the game in the second quarter of the Lakers’ 119-115 win over the Philadelphia 76ers Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena.

“He felt some soreness in the hamstring,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said after the game, adding it was too early to say whether Doncic was injured and the team would wait for imaging of his leg. Redick said the Lakers and Doncic didn’t feel comfortable playing the guard during the second half.

The Lakers were undaunted by Doncic’s injury, coming back from 14 points down and holding on for the win by following the lead of Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura and a strong defensive effort led by Marcus Smart and Jared Vanderbilt.

Reaves, playing in just his second game after coming back from a left calf strain, scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter. His back-to-back three pointers and two free throws to open the fourth quarter gave the Lakers a six-point lead they never lost. His three pointer later in the fourth quarter gave the Lakers a 13-point advantage that grew to 16 late in the game.

Reaves did all his damage in 25 minutes off the bench.

James had a double-double with 17 points and 10 assists and Hachamura, who started the third quarter in place of Doncic, had 14 points off the bench, including the game-sealing basket with 12.3 seconds left. Hachamura helped the Lakers stay the course after their lead was trimmed to two points with 27.0 seconds left in the fourth.

Doncic tried to throw a pass to Maxi Kleber that resulted in a turnover with about 3:45 left in the second quarter. He turned to run back up the court and grabbed the back of his left leg.

Doncic went up and down the court several times, grimacing in pain.

When Redick called a timeout with 3:03 left in the second quarter, Doncic stayed on the court bent over. He gingerly walked to the bench and then walked to the locker room.

Doncic had 10 points, four rebounds and two assists before leaving the game.

He entered the game leading the NBA in scoring, averaging 33.4 points per game, and is third in assists, averaging 8.7 per game.

The Lakers wrapped up 16 days on the road, playing eight games that started in Denver last month and ending in New York against the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday night. The Lakers returned home to play the surging 76ers at Crypto.com Arena.

The home team’s test was only facing a 76ers team on a five-game win streak, but finding the energy to keep pace.

Redick said he hoped his team got “plenty of sleep” before playing Thursday night.

Reaves had missed 19 straight games with a left hamstring strain and returned to play at Brooklyn.

After playing 25 minutes in that game, Redick said Reaves was “good.”

“No issues and we’ll get a little more minutes allocated to him, just over the restriction,” Redick said.

The Lakers officially announced during the third quarter that they acquired shooting guard Luke Kennard from the Atlanta Hawks for Gabe Vincent and a 2032 second-round draft pick.

The Lakers love that Kennard’s shooting can create space on the court for Doncic, James and Reaves.

Kennard, a 6-foot-5 guard, is shooting an NBA-best 49.7% from three-point range with the Hawks this season over 46 games, all off the bench. He has shot 44.2% from three-point range during his nine-year career.

Kennard is averaging 7.9 points per game, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists this season. He is shooting 53.8% from the field.