Six straight wins at home and a climb to the second seed in the West—just a week ago, the Lakers looked unstoppable. Then came the road trip. Then came LeBron James’ groin injury. And just like that, the momentum vanished. Three straight losses later, the slide continues. Now, things have gone from bad to worse.

Luka Doncic is out.

The five-time All-Star, fresh off a 45-point double-double against the Bucks, won’t play tonight against the Nuggets. The Lakers ruled him out due to right ankle soreness and left calf injury management—lingering issues from his Christmas Day setback. With LeBron still sidelined, this leaves LA painfully shorthanded.

But we are not done. There’s another injury on the list.

Jaxson Hayes, who had missed the last 3 consecutive games, will also be ‘OUT’ as he recovers from a right knee contusion. According to Jovan Buha, both players were reportedly sent back to Los Angeles to recover away from the road games. Rui Hachimura also joined them, as the condition of his left knee injury was bad enough to prevent him from playing. As for Maxi Kleber, the German power forward will not be re-evaluated for at least another month.

All these updates spell bad news for Luka Doncic. Sure, the player is capable enough to carry a whole team’s offensive efforts on his shoulders. He proved that in the recent game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Despite having just recovered from a right ankle soreness, the Slovenian dropped 45 points (14-27 FG, 7-13 3Pt, 10-12 FT), 11 rebounds, and 3 assists in 36 minutes. This was the highest score he recorded with the Lakers squad. However, his individual brilliance fell short in front of the Bucks’ collective effort of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. from winning.

And if Milwaukee was a problem, Denver could be a nightmare.

How has Luka Doncic performed against the Denver Nuggets in the last 10 games?

Throughout his 7-year-long NBA career, Luka Doncic has competed against the Denver Nuggets in 20 games. Surprisingly, the score has been even between them, with the win record standing at a perfect 10-10. When looking at their last 10 games, Luka’s win record is 5-5.

Luka Doncic has averaged 30.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 9.0 assists in his last 10 matchups against the Nuggets. He shot at least 9.7-21.1 (46.0%) field goals, 3.5-8.9 (39.3%) three-pointers, and 7.1-9.1 (78.0%) free throws in that period.

The last game that Luka Doncic played against Nikola Jokic and Co. was his then-best game with the Lakers. Before that, the player scored only 14, 16, and 14 points in his first three LA games. When the time came to face the Serbian, however, Luka Doncic scored 32 points! His contribution allowed the Lakers to secure a 123-100 score and snap the Nuggets’ 9-game winning streak.

Tonight could have been Doncic’s chance to break the 10-10 tie in their head-to-head. Instead, LA will have to fight for a win without its two biggest stars.