LOS ANGELES — Although Luka Dončić speaks four languages, he struggled for the words to express just how strange it was to play against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
Just 23 days after his world was upended by the Mavericks’ shocking decision to trade him, Dončić was on the Los Angeles Lakers’ home court to face those same Mavs. His feelings of betrayal and uncertainty are still fresh, and they affected a performance that was inconsistent, occasionally brilliant and altogether fraught with anxiety.
“It was just a lot of emotions I was feeling,” Dončić said. “I can’t even explain. It was a different game. Sometimes I don’t know what I was doing. I’m just glad it’s over, honestly.”
Dončić’s game was all over the place — just like his head.
He posted his first triple-double in a Lakers uniform, but he also missed 11 of 17 shots and was wild from 3-point range. He made a dozen sublime passes and at least that many big defensive plays, yet he scored only two points in the fourth quarter of a tight game.
“It was so weird,” Dončić said. “There were moments I felt like I don’t know what I was doing. I’m glad we got a win.”
Fortunately for Dončić, he now has LeBron James for a teammate — and the top scorer in NBA history simply wouldn’t let Luka lose.
In that fourth quarter, the Lakers’ eager fans saw another glimpse of what Dončić and James can become. James took over the game, scoring 16 of his 27 points in the fourth — including three key buckets on passes from Dončić to cap his superb playmaking performance.
Doncic finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists in the 81st triple-double of his career.
His teammates would have known it was an important night even if they hadn’t seen Dončić take a few meaningful looks at the Mavs bench, and they helped to sand off the rough edges on Doncic’s cathartic evening.
“We understood as his teammates that we wanted to try to get this win for him,” James said. “Obviously we know what transpired not too long ago. As his teammates, we wanted just to back him in any way, shape or form.
“Happy that I was — along with my teammates — able to make a couple of plays down the stretch to get him this win. I know he probably won’t say it, but I think it means something to him for sure.”
Dončić was at the center of the Lakers attack from the start. He missed a 3-pointer after the opening tip but blocked a shot on Dallas’ first possession before adding a layup and an assist on a 3-pointer by James moments later.
Dončić was hyped, as evidenced when he got whistled for an early technical foul by referee Pat Fraher for overzealously protesting a non-call. Two teammates rushed over to Dončić to make sure it went no further.
Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, who probably bet his career on trading Dončić, was at the game from pregame warmups onward. Dončić said he didn’t see him.
While Dončić shot some early free throws, Lakers fans started a chant that returned throughout the night: “Thank you, Nico! Thank you, Nico!”
Mark Cuban, who sold controlling interest in the Mavericks 14 months ago, also watched from courtside. The billionaire jokingly booed Dončić a few times before Dončić grinningly replied, “Shut up, Mark!”
“It was awkward, but at the same time it was fun,” said Mavs guard Kyrie Irving, Dončić’s good friend. “We got a chance to feel like we were in practice all over again, going at each other.
“That was a good reflection point, and then just seeing the crowd cheer for him and just get him going and see him make some of the tough shots that I’ve seen him make thousands of times, that probably made it even more awkward. But it was fun. It’s fun competing.”
Dončić was widely assumed to be untouchable as one of the league’s best players at 25 years old — particularly after carrying the Mavs to the NBA Finals last season. Harrison thought otherwise, and the Lakers eagerly gave up a championship-winning big man in Anthony Davis to acquire a younger foundational talent for the next decade and beyond.
This game would have been twice as portentous if Davis had been healthy, but the 10-time All-Star who teamed up with James to lead the Lakers to the 2020 championship is out at least two more weeks with a groin injury sustained in his Mavs debut.
Davis attended the game and got a standing ovation in the first quarter when the Lakers aired a lengthy tribute video to their longtime center, who waved both arms in gratitude.
Los Angeles also welcomed back Max Christie, the former second-round pick who became a starter this season before the trade. Christie scored all of his 10 points in the first half.
The next trade reunion should be even crazier: The Lakers visit Dallas on April 9, and Mavs fans already have been extraordinarily vocal in their displeasure with Harrison and the Dallas ownership group.
