Luka Doncic - NBA - sportstiger

Picture Credit: Twitter

The Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks started off their Western Conference finals series in San Francisco on Wednesday night after a slow start. The Warriors finally emerged as the better team on the night, although, they didn't start as one of the favourites to come out of the West at the beginning of the season.

But a hot start to their 2021-22 campaign ensured they returned to their status as one of the most feared teams as Steph Curry also found some of his MVP forms. Luka Doncic, who has single-handedly guided the Mavericks to this stage, didn't look at his best as he ended Game 1 with 20 points (6-of-18 from the field) and seven rebounds.

The Warriors held him to just 16.7 per cent shooting on contested field-goal attempts, a career playoff low for the Slovenian. Doncic not just had an off day with his performance, but he also received a painful scar during the game. Around five minutes into the game with Golden State leading 11-9, Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins scratched Luka Doncic's face as he attempted to steal the ball from the Mavericks star.

Watch the video here:

A foul was called on Wiggins, and Doncic went to the free-throw line for two shots. Cameras zooming in on Doncic's face showed a massive scratch stemming from the bridge of the 23-year-old's nose to his right cheek. Then, Doncic injured his shoulder and was seen massaging it and grimacing for several minutes in the second quarter.

He went into halftime, leading all scorers with 18 points, including several long jumpers after dinging the shoulder. The early shooting of every other Mavericks player was even uglier than his newfound scar. The Dallas Mavericks started a ghastly 4-for-22 from beyond the arc and finished a horrid 11-for-48.