Luka to miss rest of regular season with Grade 2 hamstring strain

Luka Doncic will miss the rest of the regular season after being diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain.

Doncic's status beyond that is uncertain, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin.

The six-time All-Star suffered the injury during Thursday's blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He missed four games earlier this season with another left hamstring strain.

The NBA playoffs start April 18.

Doncic has been having one of his best seasons to date, averaging 33.5 points, 8.3 assists, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.6 steals. However, his latest absence will leave him short of the 65-game requirement needed to qualify for the NBA's end-of-season awards.

Doncic's agent, Bill Duffy, is hoping for an exception, as his client missed two games in December for the birth of his child.

"To ensure that Luka's incredible accomplishments this season are rightly honored and he can be considered for the league's end-of-season awards, we intend to apply for an 'extraordinary circumstances challenge' to the 65-game rule," Duffy said in a statement obtained by Charania.

Los Angeles sits one game ahead of the Denver Nuggets for the Western Conference's third seed entering Friday's play.