Report: Doncic's MRI comes back clean, will return when discomfort allows

An MRI on Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic's thigh came back clean Thursday, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Doncic, who left Wednesday's loss to the New Orleans Pelicans in the third quarter due to pain, will reportedly return once the discomfort subsides enough for him to play.

The 24-year-old said postgame that the issue plagued him for over a week before he pulled himself out of Wednesday's encounter. Doncic added that he's unsure what caused the injury, saying it suddenly surfaced when he woke up the day after a game.

Doncic ranks second in the league in scoring with a career-high 33 points per contest, trailing only Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid's 33.3 points. The Mavericks star is also registering 8.6 rebounds, eight assists, 1.5 steals, and shooting 34.9% from distance.

Wednesday's defeat was Dallas' seventh in its last 10 games and dropped it into a tie with the Minnesota Timberwolves at 34-33 for seventh place in a tightly contested Western Conference. Though only a half-game out of a top-six seed, the Mavericks are also just 2.5 contests clear of falling to 11th and outside the play-in entirely with 15 games remaining.