LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Lakers superstar Luka Dončić and starting center Deandre Ayton remain sidelined on Thursday for the Lakers' final game against the Mavericks before the All-Star break.
Dončić has missed the last three games after going to the locker room with a hamstring strain in the second quarter last Thursday against the Sixers. Ayton will miss his second consecutive game (eighth game this season) due to right knee soreness.
Deandre Ayton (right knee soreness) has been downgraded to OUT against the Mavs tonight, per the #Lakers. https://t.co/LhexffGFwn
— Carlos Yakimowich (@CarlosYakJr) February 12, 2026
After the Lakers' 119-115 fourth-quarter win over the Sixers, coach JJ Redick said Dončić told the staff he couldn't finish the game.
"He felt some soreness in his hamstring. He didn't feel like it was good enough to go back in and so did our medical [staff]," Redick said.
Los Angeles went on to push past Philadelphia without the Slovenian behind an explosive 35 points in 25 minutes off the bench from Austin Reaves.
In their three games without Dončić, the Lakers have lost two of those contests. A strong closeout win over the Warriors, and then two losses to the top two teams in the West on back-to-back nights against the Thunder (42-13) and Spurs (38-16).
For more context, the Lakers had four of their five starters out against San Antonio, which included Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Ayton and Dončić.
The Lakers are 5-6 without Dončić this season and in their last three games without him, L.A. has been last in field goal attempts and 3-point attempts, showing just how missed he is on this offense.
Dončić still leads the NBA in scoring at 32.8 points a game (42 games), along with 7.6 rebounds and 8.6 assists, while Ayton has posted 13.2 points and 8.5 rebounds in 46 games this season.
L.A. sits sixth in the Western Conference at 32-21 with a 14-10 record at Crypto.com Arena.