Luka Doncic looked like a man on a mission early on in his first game against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena. Doncic got off to a red-hot start, which included drilling a three-pointer over two defenders, and he stared down the Mavericks’ bench afterward.
https://twitter.com/LakersEmpire/status/1894587173502161015
That shot didn’t count, though, as Doncic had stepped out of bounds. The Los Angeles Lakers star’s next one did, however, as the Slovenian sank a deep three less than a minute later and stared down the Mavericks’ bench again.
Luka's making a statement EARLY 🔋
Hits the deep 3 and is already up to 7p, 6r & 4a in the 1Q on TNT! pic.twitter.com/exFMtarosq
— NBA (@NBA) February 26, 2025
It was clear that Doncic wanted to make a point. The five-time All-Star was not happy about the Mavericks trading him away out of the blue, and the man primarily responsible for it, GM Nico Harrison, was in the building too.
All of this set the stage for an all-time revenge game, but Doncic cooled down not long after. The 25-year-old finished the game with 19 points (6-17 FG), 15 rebounds, 12 assists, three steals, and two blocks. It speaks to his greatness that we look at a monster triple-double like that and still come away a little disappointed.
Doncic himself felt he could have played better in his first game against the Mavericks and admitted postgame that he was glad it was over and that the Lakers won. It briefly seemed doubtful that the hosts would emerge victorious, though, as it was a back-and-forth affair early in the fourth quarter.
An unlikely upset was on the cards, but LeBron James then took over to guide the Lakers to a 107-99 win. This was their third straight triumph, and they are now 35-21 this season.
Nico Harrison Reportedly Didn’t Want The Mavericks To Revolve Around Luka Doncic
NBA insider Brian Windhorst had reported that Doncic was seething at the Mavericks for trading him, and his anger would have only grown with all that has come out of the organization since then. Shots have been fired repeatedly, and NBA insider Mark Stein recently reported that Harrison no longer wanted the Mavericks to revolve around Doncic.
“Whispers via league sources suggesting that Dallas’ decision-makers, most notably general manager Nico Harrison, no longer wanted Planet Mavericks to orbit around [Luka] Doncic and had grown determined to trade him by this summer at the latest.”
Well, orbiting around Doncic resulted in the Mavericks making the NBA Finals last year. Did he play amazingly well in the Finals? No, but he was still the Mavericks’ best player. Kyrie Irving and the supporting cast around the stars failed to step up, and they were the biggest reasons for the team’s downfall.
Time will tell if the Mavericks deciding not to orbit around Doncic was the right idea, but that would mean winning a title in the coming years. Can this group win it all? Maybe if they’re healthy, but that’s a big if.
As for the Lakers, well, you’d give them a much better chance to win it all as compared to the Mavericks. The reason? Doncic, of course. He is a generational talent and has already gone on multiple deep playoff runs.
The Lakers are unlikely to win the title this year as they lack a good big man, but once they get one, this team will make a whole lot of noise in the postseason. They’re playing fairly well without one at this point, and you’d back them to get another win when they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday at 10:30 PM ET.
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