The biggest event of last night was undoubtedly Luka Dončić’s first game against the Dallas Mavericks, who unexpectedly traded him earlier this month to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The “Lakers” celebrated a 107-99 victory in their “Crypto Arena,” led by a phenomenal performance from the Slovenian star, who clearly had a big reason for revenge against his former franchise.
Dončić was in top form, recording a triple-double with 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists. He also made several moves directly aimed at Nico Harrison, the man who traded him from the Mavs to the Lakers.
The top scorer for the Los Angeles team was LeBron James with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Austin Reaves added 20 points, while former Dallas player Dončić was part of the trade that sent Anthony Davis and Max Christie to the Mavericks.
For Dallas, which was missing Anthony Davis due to injury, the leading scorer was Kyrie Irving with 35 points and seven rebounds. Klay Thompson added 22 points and eight rebounds, while Max Christie recorded 10 points and six assists.
Although the home team led at halftime, the game saw a tense finish, with LeBron’s crucial performance in the final quarter proving decisive. He scored 16 points in the last 12 minutes, with a pivotal dunk for 102-96 two minutes before the end.
Dončić hit several difficult shots and delivered some flashy assists, celebrating in his signature style.
The Lakers secured their ninth win in the last 11 games, placing them fourth in the Western Conference standings with a 35-21 record, while Dallas sits ninth with a 31-28 record.
Dončić Responds to the Man Who Traded Him
During warm-ups before the Lakers’ game against his former Texas team, Dončić, playing against Dallas for the first time since the trade, decided to do push-ups right in front of Harrison.
While the official reason was that he missed a half-court shot—where push-ups serve as the usual penalty—it’s hard to believe it wasn’t also a response to the words of the man who traded him for Anthony Davis.
According to The New York Times, Harrison had concerns about the NBA star’s physical condition, leading him to cash in on Dončić while there was still time.
Luka Doncic doing pushups while his former Mavericks GM, Nico, watches him in the background 👀pic.twitter.com/sJ2Z4mcnmk
— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) February 26, 2025
“I’m Glad This Is Over”
Slovenian basketball star Luka Dončić spoke at a press conference after his first game against Dallas since leaving Texas.
“I don’t know. At times, it felt so weird. I didn’t know what to do. I’m glad we won,” Dončić said, later adding in response to another question:
“I’m glad this is over.”
Asked if it was significant to play against the Mavericks so soon after the trade, he responded:
“It will definitely help me. Like I said, I’m glad this game is over. It will certainly help in the long process,” Dončić said, adding:
“The final conclusion will come later—it’s not ideal. The game is over, there were a lot of emotions. We take it step by step.”
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He was also asked if he had ever experienced anything like this before and whether he saw Dallas general manager Nico Harrison during warm-ups.
“No, definitely not. This was different. I didn’t see him during warm-ups,” Dončić replied briefly.
He did, however, have a moment with his former teammates.
“Kyrie is my guy—that’s beyond basketball. It was great to see those guys. We went through battles together,” Dončić concluded.
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Source: B92, Foto: AP / Kyusung Gong