Luka Doncic scores 45 as Lakers beat Dallas Mavericks

Luka Doncic played against his former team Dallas Mavericks for the first time on Wednesday night and admitted it was a very emotional moment for him. Doncic was honored by his former franchise with a lengthy tribute video during player introductions.

“After that video, I was, like, ‘There’s no way I’m playing this game,'” Doncic said. “It was so many emotions.”

However, Doncic not only played but dominated his former franchise. The Slovenian scored 45 points to play a key role in 112-97 win, that clinched a playoff berth for the Lakers.

“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 head coach JJ Redick thought Doncic will score 50 points.

“I thought he was going to get 50. I was disappointed.” 

The chief coach said his players ticked the right boxes against the Mavericks.

“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. But it was an awesome moment for everyone.”

On the other hand, Anthony Davis didn’t have a great night as he finished with 13 points on 5-for-13 shooting, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. After the game, Doncic and Davis hugged each other.

“Both of us were caught off [guard], surprised by [the trade],” Davis said. “But that was two months ago. It happened. There’s nothing we can do about it now. Just told him, ‘Good game.’ He played a hell of a game. Just a respect thing.”

The Lakers will next take on the Houston Rockets on Friday.