The Dallas Mavericks had raced to a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series after back-to-back wins in LA, but the Clippers have hit back to square it up.
Kawhi Leonard starred with 29 points and 10 rebounds in Sunday’s 106-81 victory over the Mavericks.
Doncic still played 36 minutes in the game but had limited impact with 19 points, six rebounds and six assists and Mavs coach Rick Carlisle acknowledged the issue.
“He’s in pain,” Carlisle said. “It appeared to me that he couldn’t turn left, couldn’t look to his left.
“He couldn’t turn his neck to his left, and that’s difficult for a guy that relies on peripheral vision and basically has played his whole life with his head on a swivel.
“We’ve got to hope in the next couple of days that he can get better, hopefully substantially better.
“There is a two-day break between games, which is a positive in this case.”
The 22-year-old Slovenian guard played down the impact of the injury, insisting he would be ready for Game 5.
“The pain is like neck and then the nerve down,” Doncic said.
“I don’t really know how to explain that. It felt way better today morning than yesterday. I’ll just keep doing massages, ice it down and then be ready for Wednesday.”
He added: “I don’t think that matters right now. We lost. Injuries are part of basketball, but I was 100 percent. I played terrible, so just gotta move on to next one.”