Luka Doncic has been diagnosed with Grade 2 hamstring strain

Just two days ago, the Los Angeles Lakers had won 16 of their previous 18 games and were starting to look like a potential championship contender. But in a span of just a couple of hours, they have been reduced to a team that is hobbled and could quickly exit in the first round of the playoffs. They not only lost 139-96 to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, but they also lost Luka Doncic to a hamstring injury in the third quarter.

Per Dave McMenamin of ESPN , Doncic has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, which means he will miss the rest of the regular season and perhaps part of the postseason. "Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic will be sidelined at least through the end of the regular season with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, the team announced Friday," McMenamin wrote. "Doncic underwent an MRI in Dallas on Friday afternoon that revealed the extent of the strain, which he suffered in the third quarter of the Lakers' 139-96 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.

"A Grade 2 strain typically involves a monthlong recovery, but the Lakers did not provide a timetable for Doncic's return beyond missing the final five regular-season games. The first round of the NBA playoffs begins April 18. " The superstar appeared to tweak his left hamstring early in Thursday's game, but he continued to play.

Los Angeles has a 50-27 record and has five regular-season contests left. It is currently in third place in the Western Conference and has a one-game lead over the fourth-place Denver Nuggets. Doncic had just been named the Western Conference Player of the Month for March.