Mavericks star Luka Doncic leaves game with right ankle injury

DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic left Saturday's game against the Miami Heat early in the first quarter after the young Dallas Mavericks star sprained his right ankle while driving to the basket.

The reigning Rookie of the Year's right foot landed on the foot of Heat guard Kendrick Nunn less than two minutes into the game.

Doncic lost control of the ball for a turnover and limped off the court before going down behind the basket while play continued at the other end. He got up a short time later but went straight to the locker room. He underwent X-rays that were negative, but he did not return and the Mavericks lost 122-118 in overtime.

"Luka has a right ankle sprain. We hope it's not serious," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said after the game. "X-rays were negative. That's about all we have for you right now."

The Mavericks trailed by four when Doncic went down. The deficit ballooned to 19 in about five minutes and reached 24 in the second quarter. But Dallas wiped out a 23-point halftime deficit and led twice in the fourth quarter, including 112-108 before the Heat scored the final four points of regulation.

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Doncic was playing two nights after the 20-year-old dazzled the crowd in Mexico City with a pre-game speech in Spanish before scoring 41 points with 12 rebounds and 11 assists in a 122-111 victory over Detroit. It was his NBA-leading eighth triple-double of the season.

The Slovenian guard entered the game averaging 30.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game while leading the resurgent Mavericks to the Southwest Division lead.

"It’s tough, especially winning on the road, said Heat star Jimmy Butler said. "They’re a good team, even without Luka. My prayer’s out for him. I hate to see people go down, especially him and the year he’s having. I was looking forward to the matchup."