Over the past two months, Dallas Mavericks fans have missed watching Luka Doncic play in their building. At least one night they were able to see him again on the floor of the American Airlines Center. Sadly, it was in the Los Angeles Lakers uniform. The five-time All-Star led the Lakers to Dallas, stomping the Mavericks with 45 points in a 112-97 victory. It was his best game in purple and gold, and the Lakers were taken into one victory in which he won the third seed at the Western Conference.
It was an emotional game for all involved. For Doncic, it was a return to the city he never wanted to leave. For fans, it was an opportunity to thank them, wishing they had still. And for the Mavericks? Well…it was a night they probably forgot about soon. That’s what some of the key figures in Wednesday’s game had to say after the Lakers’ victory.
Luka thankes Mavs fans, but ready for the next chapter
Before the game began, the weight of the moment was clear to Doncic. When the Mavericks performed a tribute video to him during the introduction of their starting lineup, the camera found him trying to hide his tears in a towel. Fans gave him a standing ovation when he left the floor and cheered him all night. The bond between the fan base and the players was clear. But that player no longer plays for that team. Just as Doncic loved his admiration in Dallas, he is ready for the next chapter.
“Everyone saw me and saw how they reacted to the video,” Doncic told Lisa Salters in the post-match broadcast. “All these fans, I’m really grateful. Every teammate I had, everyone had my back. I’m just happy. I love these fans. I love this city. But I came here as a young child.
Luka Doncic’s top instant return from Dallas: Lakers star sheds tears with respect, then wins 45 with the old team
Sam Quinn
After watching the video, Doncic said he felt he didn’t know how to get through the game. But that changed rapidly as he poured into the first quarter points of the 14th.
“I don’t know how I did it,” Doncic said. “When I was watching that video, I was like, ‘There’s no way to play this game.’ But all my teammates had my back.
It’s just as angry as making Mavericks fans, Doncic is now a Laker. That hasn’t changed. For him, Wednesday represents a closure. This wild regular season is coming to an end. He can put Dallas behind for years. The current focus is on the playoffs, with the Lakers setting their spot in Wednesday’s victory.
Did Luka’s coach…disappoint?
Doncic was notable on Wednesday. He scored 31 points in the first half and brought the Lakers home with several key baskets in the fourth quarter. Almost everyone in the building was in awe of his performance. But his coach? He ironically said he wanted more.
“I thought he’d get 50,” JJ Reddick joked to reporters after the game. “I was disappointed.”
In fact, we all probably had a little bit. The NBA record for most points in the player’s first road game against his previous team belongs to John Williamson, who won 50 net in a revenge game with Pacer in 1978.
Alas, we had to settle for 45, so Doncic gave us a great game rather than a historic game.
LeBron knows a bit about the reunion
LeBron James has experienced all versions of the “Superstar Returns Home” game. He did it in 2010 as a villain. He returned to Cleveland after signing with the Miami Heat. He did it as a hero eight years later, eight years after returning as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, but had already fulfilled his promise to bring the championship to Cleveland. This time he had to incorporate the moment as an audience, and it appears he enjoyed every minute of it.
“Super dope, I’m so happy to be part of that moment,” James told reporters after the game. “Obviously I saw emotion on Luka’s face. It was amazing. It was an incredible moment. I’ve never forgotten to be part of that moment. I know that the child had seven amazing seasons here.
In return with Dallas, Luka Doncic’s 45-point bomb was salted with constant deep Mavericks wounds
Brad Botkin
Jason Kidd… missed the point
The Mavericks have not handled the press well since trading Doncic. Whether that’s an anonymous leak about his conditioning, Patrick Dumont cites Shaquille O’Neill as a work ethic that he wants his team to emulate, or essentially what Nico Harrison said publicly. MAVS coach Jason Kidd continued the trend with a rather strange comparison before Wednesday’s game.
“Someone compared it to Babe Ruth,” Kidd explained.
Bay Blues comparisons are appropriate… for the Lakers. They are the Yankees in this scenario and the team that landed the superstars. The Mavericks are the Red Sox, who handed him over. The aftermath of that deal in Boston was the ’86 World Series drought. That’s not what Dallas wants to emulate, and certainly not the comparison they want to invite.
