LeBron James Reacts to Luka Doncic's Hamstring Injury, Says Lakers Have to 'Pray for the Best'

The Los Angeles Lakers are holding their breath as they await Luka Dončić's test results after he left Thursday's loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the third quarter with a hamstring injury.

LeBron James told reporters after the game that the Lakers have to "pray for the best" with their superstar point guard.

"At this point, at this juncture of the season, it's the last thing you want to see," James said. "When you have an MVP candidate on your team, the last thing you want to see is somebody go down with a hamstring injury. ... So, pray for the best, for sure, and a speedy recovery."

Lakers-Thunder Highlights

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Head coach JJ Redick confirmed that Dončić will undergo an MRI on Friday as the Lakers travel to Dallas for their upcoming game against the Mavericks.

Dončić was injured midway through the third quarter when he pulled up lame attempting to drive to the basket. He was removed from the game on the ensuing inbounds pass from Oklahoma City.

Redick did note that Dončić, who appeared to initially tweak the hamstring late in the second quarter, said the medical staff "cleared" him to return to the game after he received treatment in the locker room at halftime.

By the time Dončić was injured in the third quarter and removed for good, the result was well in hand. The Thunder were up 90-58 at the time the injury initially occurred. They extended the lead to 45 points by the end of the third quarter.

Dončić was struggling prior to leaving. He had 12 points on 3-of-10 shooting with seven assists and six turnovers in 26 minutes. It snapped his streak of 13 consecutive starts with at least 30 points.

This is the second time in two months than Dončić has suffered a hamstring injury. He previously missed four straight games from Feb. 7-12 with a hamstring issue.

The Lakers have just five games remaining in the regular season, but seeding in the Western Conference is still wide open for the four teams in the three to six range that are separated by three games in the loss column.

Los Angeles (50-27) leads the group that includes the Denver Nuggets (49-28), Houston Rockets (47-29) and Minnesota Timberwolves (46-30). The good news for the Lakers is they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with all three teams.

The difference between being the three or four seed could a potential matchup with the Thunder or San Antonio Spurs in the second round. Oklahoma City has a two-game lead over San Antonio for the No. 1 seed in the West.

The other good news for the Lakers is their closing schedule isn't difficult, with their five opponents having just a .479 winning percentage. The downside is one of those games is against the Thunder at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday.