Luka Doncic Scores 45 in Revenge Game vs. Mavs, Thrills Fans as LeBron, Lakers Get Win
Luka Dončić dominating and earning a win inside the American Airlines Center is nothing new.
But it is when he is a member of the visitors.
Dončić led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 112-97 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Wednesday's Western Conference showdown. It was his first game back in Dallas since the Mavericks traded him to the Lakers in a shocking deal, and he reminded them what they are missing in resounding fashion.
The five-time All-Star stuffed the stat sheet with 45 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals behind 16-of-28 shooting from the field and 7-of-10 shooting from deep. LeBron James added 27 points and seven rebounds in support, but this game was all about Dončić.
Social media reacted accordingly:
The Lakers are fighting for position in the Western Conference playoff picture while the Mavericks are doing the same for the play-in tournament, but the standings were far from the focal point Wednesday.
Rather, it was all about the atmosphere for Dončić's return to Dallas after the stunning trade that led to Mavericks fans protesting outside the stadium and calls to fire general manager Nico Harrison.
Dončić was already a Mavericks legend at 25 years old and just led the franchise to the NBA Finals last season. That the trade seemingly came out of nowhere in the middle of a February night made it all the more jarring and surely impacted the reactions.
And to the surprise of nobody, those fans had nothing but love for Dončić as the team played an emotional tribute video that left him in tears during pregame introductions:
The fans continued to show him nothing but love by cheering every time he touched the ball, which stood in stark contrast to the "Fire Nico" chants that started in the opening minute and continued when players were shooting free throws.
Dončić only added fuel to that fire with the way he played. He came out of the gates on fire and poured in 31 points behind six first-half three-pointers as a one-man wrecking crew. No other Laker scored in double figures before halftime, but they still built a three-point lead.
They expanded that advantage to double digits after intermission as James and Rui Hachimura started taking advantage of the spacing created by Dončić and providing secondary scoring.
To Dallas' credit, it battled back and actually took the lead with Anthony Davis playing better in the second half and Dončić slowing for stretches in the second half.
Yet the Lakers just so happen to also have one of the greatest players of all time in James, and the King took over in the fourth quarter. James gave the Lakers the lead again for good, but Dončić fittingly hit an acrobatic layup and three-pointer in the closing minutes to put the finishing touches on the win.
Which, fittingly, drew a rousing ovation from the Mavericks fans.
