Lakers vs. Thunder, 2 players injured! One limped out of the arena.

A crushing defeat is already bad. What happened afterward with Doncic and the Lakers was even worse.

Late Thursday night, as Doncic limped out of the locker room, few words were spoken to him. Frankly, there wasn't much to say.

The Los Angeles Lakers, after declaring themselves genuine contenders with a 15-2 record in March, faced their biggest test and utterly failed. It wasn't just one or two defensive lapses. It was the Oklahoma City Thunder breaking their pencil before the Lakers even started answering the test.

If Doncic hadn't limped out of this 96-139 rout, if he had simply walked out of the arena with humility and humiliation, the story would be different. Of course, morning talk shows would harshly criticize the Lakers, and rightly so. Contenders don't lose crucial games like this—trailing by 23 points in the first quarter, 35 in the second, 45 in the third, and 46 in the fourth. Right?

But that reaction overlooks nuance—the nuance of remembering how the Lakers crushed the Thunder here last April, when Doncic and the Lakers, after leading by 22 points at halftime, eventually won comfortably by 27.

That victory didn't define the Lakers' season—they exited in the first round after five games. It certainly didn't define the Thunder's season; the championship banner hanging in their arena proves that a late-season blowout isn't reason to write an obituary prematurely.

Too many turnovers, too many missed shots, too low intensity at the start—these were correctable. But because Doncic limped away, the Lakers took away a problem far bigger than a poor 48-minute performance.

If everything hadn't changed at the moment Doncic fell in the third quarter, then as the regular season's door rapidly closes, at least everything became terrifying. Doncic threw the ball out of bounds, felt some pain in his left leg's posterior, quickly curled on the ground, covered his face in frustration, then limped toward the back. His night was over, and perhaps his MVP campaign too.

After the game, James and Reaves said something about what to do next.

"Losing is always bad, whether you lose by 1 point or 50 points, a loss is a loss," Reaves said.

"Nothing has changed, we'll still be together," James said. "Obviously, we'll be tested... We won't jump to conclusions, we'll see his situation. Then we'll start from there. But nothing shakes us. It's one game, part of the NBA season, against the defending champions. We understand. We get it."

But in the locker room, there was a tacit understanding, though most wore brave faces, that the momentum they built was precarious and the situation could be severe.

Because Doncic didn't walk out; he limped.

On Friday, he will undergo an MRI, which will begin clarifying his return timeline. Without him, the Lakers will stagger into the final 5 games of the regular season, and most importantly, into the playoffs.

Reaves also added a new injury. After hyperextending for a rebound in the first quarter, he immediately grabbed his left side/back, returned to the locker room for treatment, and came back in the second quarter. Whenever he exerted force in actions—full-court passes, three-point shots, even some lateral defensive movements—his left hand would reach toward his back.

"We'll see," Reaves said.

Reaves is already dealing with wrist issues and increasing lower-body problems; if Doncic misses significant time, he might not be the most logical choice to shoulder heavier loads. Head coach Redick said both he and Doncic received treatment and were cleared to play.

"I mean, it was discussed at halftime," Redick said regarding possibly resting Reaves. "Thought we'd play those guys about six minutes, then... if we couldn't cut the deficit, we were ready to take them out."

The Lakers' healthiest option, perhaps, is the 41-year-old James. But he has adapted to a supporting role and would need a fairly significant physical and stylistic shift to replace Doncic as the offensive orchestrator.

"At this point, at this juncture of the season, this is the last thing you want to see," James said about Doncic's injury. "Especially anyone on our team, but when you have an MVP candidate on your team, the last thing you want is someone going down with a hamstring injury."

While the Lakers have secured a top-6 spot in the West, home-court advantage in the first round is still attainable. Fortunately for them, they've locked in home-court advantage over the chasing teams (via tiebreaker advantages).

"In this league, there's never a time to relax. The only thing we know is we don't have to play in the play-in, so we have a week. But health is wealth," James said. "Obviously, we're already without Marcus (ankle injury), and now without Luka. We don't know the timeline, but obviously, we'll see. We'll see what happens."

What we know for sure didn't happen Thursday night: the Lakers didn't alleviate any doubts about the authenticity of their contender status. They didn't push Doncic higher on MVP ballots as staff privately hoped. They didn't leave the arena with a clear mindset about the future.

For the first time in over a month, the Lakers don't know what's coming next.

And that uncertainty is worse than any deficit on the scoreboard.