Luka Doncic’s eyes welled up with tears during a pregame tribute in Dallas on Thursday night, and then he proceeded to dominate the Mavs with a season-high 45 points in an emotional 112-97 victory.
DALLAS — Tears welled in Luka Doncic’s eyes and he buried his head in a towel Wednesday night, back in the building he called his NBA home for 6½ seasons before the trade that turned his world upside down.
Returning to play the Mavericks for the first time as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, Doncic was honored by his former franchise with a lengthy tribute video during player introductions. As the jumbotron flashed an amazing array of basketball highlights that made him one of the most beloved figures in Dallas sports history, Doncic struggled to keep it together.
„After that video, I was, like, ‚There’s no way I’m playing this game'“, Doncic said. „It was so many emotions.“
He didn’t just play, he dominated, providing a painful reminder for every Mavs fan in attendance of the player the franchise parted with in a deal with the Lakers in February, acquiring Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a future first-round pick.
At the end of the night, when Doncic checked out after tying a season high with 45 points and leading L.A. to a 112-97 win that clinched a playoff berth, it was all smiles from him and his Laker teammates who swarmed him and chanted along with the „Luka! Luka!“ cacophony from the crowd.
„Big time, because they all had my back“, Doncic said of sharing the moment with his new team. „Everybody had my back, from coaches to players, and we’re trying to build something special here. That was really, really, really nice to see.“
Lakers coach JJ Redick deadpanned that he would have liked to see a few more points from Doncic, quipping, „I thought he was going to get 50, I was disappointed.“ But in all sincerity, he said he believed his team took a major step forward together.
„Greg [St. Jean] said to me, ‚This is going to be awesome for our group to go through this with him, and for him to go through this with them'“, Redick said of his conversation with one of the assistant coaches on his staff. „Does that mean we’re going to win an NBA championship or get to the conference finals? I don’t know.
