Warriors' D'Angelo Russell Briefly Exits After Scary Collision with Luka Doncic
Golden State Warriors guard D'Angelo Russell briefly left his team's home game against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday after an on-court collision with Mavs point guard Luka Doncic.
Russell dove for a loose ball with the Mavs up 89-84 midway through the third quarter. His head appeared to connect with Doncic's torso as the Dallas point guard corralled the ball.
Nick Friedell of ESPN reported that Russell got to his feet on his own and went to the locker room with members of the Warriors' medical staff.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic provided more details:
Thankfully, Russell was cleared to return before the third quarter ended after being diagnosed with a shoulder contusion, per Kerith Burke of NBC Sports Bay Area.
Russell, 23, averaged 22.7 points, 6.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game leading into the night. He dropped 30 first-half points on Saturday (8-of-12 from three-point range) and had 32 at the time of the collision.
Russell has been spectacular at times for the Warriors, but injuries have kept him off the court on numerous occasions.
An ankle ailment forced him to sit for three games from Nov. 2 to 6.
The left-hander dominated upon his return, averaging 38.3 points over his first three games. However, Russell left the Warriors' Nov. 15 contest against the visiting Boston Celtics with a right thumb sprain and did not return. He missed nine more games as a result.
However, Russell's career has turned the corner ever since an excellent 2018-19 campaign with the Brooklyn Nets, when he averaged 21.1 points, 7.0 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game for the East's No. 6 seed. Brooklyn even put up a fight in the first round against the favorite Philadelphia 76ers but fell short in five games.
Russell landed in Golden State after a sign-and-trade sent Kevin Durant to Brooklyn.
