Sawt Falasteen - Injured Lakers star Doncic out for rest of NBA regular season: team

Doncic "has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain and will be out for the remainder of the regular season," the Lakers, who have five games left in the regular season, said in a statement.

ESPN reported that Doncic, who leads the league in scoring, is "uncertain" for the playoffs.

Doncic's injury is a massive blow to the Lakers, who have clinched a playoff berth but at third in the Western Conference are just one game ahead of the fourth-placed Denver Nuggets.

Doncic, who is averaging 33.5 points per game, 8.3 assists and 7/7 rebounds, limped out of the third quarter of the Lakers' crushing 139-96 loss to the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.

The 27-year-old Slovenian was emotional as he hobbled toward the sideline. Moments earlier he had pulled up in obvious pain while driving to the basket.

Doncic produced a magical March campaign, delivering 13 30-point performances. That included seven 40-point games -- with one game of 51 and one of 60.

He had joined icon Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to score 600 points in the month of March and became one of just 10 players to score 600 points in any calendar month.

He has been central to the Lakers' surge to third in the West and put himself firmly in the Most Valuable Player conversation.

But missing five more games could see him fail to play the minimum 65 games required for award eligibility.

Doncic had felt some discomfort in the hamstring in the first half of Thursday's game, but coach JJ Redick said team medical staff had cleared him to return for the second half.

"We checked him out," Redick said after the game. "He got work done, but he was cleared. We're not going to put a player at risk. Those things happen."

H.Nasr--SF-PST