The Mavericks on Sunday departed Dallas, without Luka Doncic, to face a Milwaukee team that has won 18 straight games and 22 of its last 23.

Even so, the Mavericks as a franchise breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The right ankle sprain that Doncic suffered Saturday night was diagnosed, according to a Mavericks source, as “moderate.” The source told The News that Doncic almost certainly will miss Dallas’ four games leading into Christmas, but might be able to return soon after that.

To anyone who has seen replays of Doncic rolling the ankle, just 100 seconds into Dallas’ overtime home loss to Miami, Sunday’s prognosis clearly was a best-case outcome for the Mavericks and their NBA Most Valuable Player candidate.

In a text to reporters Sunday, coach Rick Carlisle confirmed that Doncic would remain in Dallas to receive treatment while the Mavericks (17-8) face the white-hot Bucks (24-3) and reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“There will be no further updates until Wednesday night,” Carlisle texted.

That is the night Dallas will host another East power, Boston (17-7), before their pre-Christmas trip to face Atlantic Division leader Philadelphia and Toronto.

“We’ve got to circle the wagons with the guys that we have and play like we did in the second half,” Carlisle said, referring to the fact Dallas outscored Miami by 23 points in the third and fourth quarters after trailing 73-50 at halftime. “Pretty simple.”

Simple doesn’t describe Dallas’ schedule or challenge of playing without No. 3 NBA scorer Doncic (29.3 per game), who also is third in assists (8.9) and 17th in rebounds (9.6 average).

The Southwest Division-leading Mavericks have built a comfortable cushion in terms of making the playoffs – according to basketball-reference.com, their probability is 100%.

Dallas Mavericks forward Luka Doncic (77) reacts after injuring himself as Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) defends him during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Saturday, Dec 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth) (Michael Ainsworth / AP)

Significant slippage during Doncic’s absence, however, could jeopardize their chances of reaching larger goals, including securing home-court advantage to start the postseason.

“We’ve got a deep team,” said J.J. Barea, who in Doncic’s absence had 12 points and five assists in just 13 minutes Saturday against the Heat. “We’ve got great players all around, from one to 15. And we stay ready.

“There’s going to be opportunities, a lot of touches for a lot of people.”

Just two weeks ago, before the win at New Orleans, Carlisle discussed how the Mavericks’ roster and playing rotation compositions were different from past seasons.

Doncic averages 92.2 touches per game, third-most in the NBA behind the Lakers’ LeBron James (94.6) and Denver’s Nikola Jokic (93.3).

Granted, Dallas was 6-5 last season in games Doncic missed, but this is a different cast and the Mavericks play a different style when Doncic is on the court. The Maverick who averages the second-most touches is Kristaps Porzingis, at 53.5 per game.

Among guards, the Maverick with the most average touches behind Doncic is Delon Wright, at just 39.7 per game. Carlisle noted two weeks ago that Dallas’ guard depth “gives us some protection at that position,” with Wright, Jalen Brunson and veteran Barea all having seen point guard minutes this season.

“We have another way to play, and we’re doing it with our second unit,” Carlisle said then. "If he [Doncic] was not playing, our first unit would look a lot more like that.”

He added: “We’re not in a big hurry to get into that situation, obviously, but we’ve thought through a lot of that stuff.”

Good thing, since that situation has become reality, though, thankfully for the Mavericks, not as long-term as it appeared might be the case Saturday night, when Doncic lay behind the Mavericks’ basket, grimacing and clutching his lower leg.

Life without Luka begins Monday night, with arguably the greatest challenge in the NBA, the Bucks and Antetokounmpo. Are the Mavericks ready?

“No,” semi-joked Porzingis. “But we’re going to have to try to stop him. Great team. Great player. Great challenge for us. So we’re excited.”

That’s one way of putting it.