For the past two months, Dallas Mavericks fans have missed watching Luka Dončić play in their building. For one night at least, they got to see him on the American Airlines Center floor again. Sadly for them, it was in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform. The five-time All-Star led the Lakers into Dallas and stomped the Mavericks with 45 points in a 112-97 victory. It was his best game in purple and gold, and it took the Lakers within one win of clinching the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
It was an emotional game for all parties involved. For Dončić, it was a return to a city he never wanted to leave. For the fans, it was a chance to thank a player they wish they still had. And for the Mavericks? Well… it was a night they’d probably sooner forget. Here are what some of they key figures from Wednesday’s game had to say after a memorable Lakers victory.
Luka grateful to Mavs fans, but ready for next chapter
The weight of the moment was evident to Dončić before the game even began. As the Mavericks played him a tribute video during the starting lineup introductions, the cameras caught him trying to hide tears in his towel. The fans gave him a standing ovation as he exited the floor and cheered for him all night long. The bond between fan base and player was obvious. But that player no longer plays for that team. As much as Dončić loved the adulation in Dallas, he’s ready for the next chapter.
“Everybody saw me, saw the way I reacted to the video,” Dončić told Lisa Salters on the broadcast after the game. “All these fans, I really appreciate it, man. All the teammates I had, everybody had my back. I’m just happy. I love these fans. I love this city. But it’s time to move on. I came as a young kid here, 18, and I didn’t know what to expect from the NBA. They made me feel at home. Just a lot of great, great memories.”
Top moments from Luka Dončić’s Dallas return: Lakers star tears up during tribute, then scores 45 on old team
Sam Quinn
After watching the video, Dončić said he felt unsure how he would be able to get through the game. But that changed quickly as he poured in 14 first-quarter points.
“I don’t know how I did it,” Dončić said. “When I was watching that video, I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m playing this game.’ But all my teammates had my back. They really supported me.”
As angry as it makes Mavericks fans, Dončić is a Laker now. That isn’t changing. For him, Wednesday represented closure. This wild regular season is coming to an end. He can put the Dallas years behind him. The focus now is on the playoffs, which the Lakers clinched their spot in with Wednesday’s victory.
Luka’s coach was… disappointed?
Dončić was remarkable on Wednesday. He scored 31 points in the first half and brought the Lakers home with several key baskets in the fourth quarter. Almost everyone in the building was in awe of his performance. But his coach? He sarcastically said he wanted more.
“I thought he was gonna get 50,” JJ Redick joked to reporters after the game. “I was disappointed.”
In truth, we probably all were a little bit. The NBA record for most points in a player’s first road game against his former team belongs to John Williamson, who scored 50 with the Nets in his revenge game against the Pacers in 1978. Everyone watching Wednesday would have loved to see Dončić break that record, if only to twist the knife further into an already reeling Mavericks team.
Alas, we had to settle for 45, giving Dončić just an excellent game instead of a historic one.
LeBron knows a little something about reunions
LeBron James has been through every version of the “superstar returns home” game. He did it as a villain in 2010, when he returned to Cleveland after signing with the Miami Heat. He did it as a hero eight years later, when he came back as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, but having already fulfilled his promise to bring a championship to Cleveland. This time, he got to take in the moment as a spectator, and he seemingly enjoyed every minute of it.
“Super dope, super happy to be a part of that moment,” James told reporters after the game. “Obviously you saw the emotions on Luka’s face. It was great, it was an unbelievable moment, something I’ll probably never forget to be a part of that moment. You know the kid had almost seven amazing seasons here. I mean, he was from a kid to a man, and for all of those moments to all come together today, it was pretty cool.”
In return to Dallas, Luka Dončić’s 45-point bombshell was salt in an ever-deepening Mavericks wound
Brad Botkin
Jason Kidd… missed the point
The Mavericks haven’t exactly handled the press well since trading Dončić away. Whether it was the anonymous leaks about his conditioning, Patrick Dumont citing Shaquille O’Neal as the sort of work ethic he wants his team to emulate or basically anything Nico Harrison has said publicly, virtually all of it has been shredded by angry fans and critical media. Mavs coach Jason Kidd continued that trend before Wednesday’s game with a pretty bizarre comparison.
“Someone compared it to Babe Ruth,” Kidd explained, “which is kind of cool.”
The Babe Ruth comparison is appropriate… for the Lakers. They are the Yankees in this scenario, the team that landed the superstar. The Mavericks are the Red Sox, the one who gave him away. The aftermath of that deal for Boston was an 86-year World Series drought. That’s not something Dallas wants to emulate, and it certainly isn’t a comparison they should want to invite.