Luka Doncic won't be shut down if Mavs can still make playoffs

DALLAS — All-Star guard Luka Doncic declared that he would not consider being shut down for the season as long as the Dallas Mavericks have postseason hopes, no matter how long the odds.

«I'm playing tomorrow,» Doncic said after Tuesday's practice. «When there's still a chance, I'm gonna play. So that's not gonna happen yet.»

Doncic (left thigh injury recovery) and fellow All-Star guard Kyrie Irving (right foot injury recovery) are officially listed as probable for Wednesday's home game against the Sacramento Kings. After losing seven of their past eight games, the 37-42 Mavs are one game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Western Conference's final play-in spot.

The Thunder own the tiebreaker over the Mavs, meaning that Dallas must win two more games than Oklahoma City in the final week of the season to extend its season.

«There's little chance,» Doncic said. «We all know that, but like I said, as long as there's a chance, I'll play.»

The Mavs, who currently have the 10th-best lottery odds, owe the New York Knicks a top-10-protected pick as the final piece of the Kristaps Porzingis trade. Team sources told ESPN on Monday that there had been internal discussions about shutting down Doncic and Irving for the final three games, a scenario that would have prioritized protecting lottery position over chasing the slim chance of qualifying for the play-in tournament.

Doncic said he was not included in those discussions.

«I think they knew that I wouldn't want to do it,» said Doncic, who is averaging 32.8 points per game, two-tenths of a point behind Philadelphia's Joel Embiid in the race for the scoring title. «They know me like that, so I think it was not a big discussion.»

Doncic described this as «a very disappointing