LOS ANGELES (AP) – Luka Donsic speaks four languages and struggled to express the words to describe how strange it was to play against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
Just 23 days after Dallas’ shocking decision to trade him, Don Sic was on the Los Angeles Lakers home court and faced those same mavs. His feelings of betrayal and uncertainty were still fresh, and they influenced their inconsistent, sometimes brilliant, and unsettling performances.
“That was a lot of the emotions I was feeling,” Donsic said. “I can’t even explain it. It was a different game. Sometimes I don’t know what I was doing. Honestly, I’m glad it was over.”
Donsic’s games were everywhere like his head.
He posted a triple double on the Lakers uniform, but he also missed 11 of his 17 shots and was wild from the 3-point range. He made dozens of sublime passes and at least many big defensive plays, but only scored two points in the fourth quarter of the tight game.
“It was very strange,” Donsic said. “There was a moment when I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing. I’m glad I won.”
Luckily for Donsic, he now has teammate LeBron James. The top scorer in NBA history didn’t let Luka lose.
That fourth quarter, Lakers’ avid fans got another glimpse into what happens to Don Sic and James. James took over the game and scored 16 of his 27 points in the final period. Capped his amazing playmaking performance, including three important buckets of passes from Donsic.
Donsic finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists in the 81st triple double of his career.
His teammates would have known that it was an important night, even if they had seen Doncic take a meaningful view of the Mavs bench, and they would have known that on the night of Doncic’s Cathartic It helped to cover the rough edges.
“We knew we wanted to get this victory for him as his teammates,” James said. “Obviously we know what happened so long ago. As his teammates, we wanted to support him in some form, in some form, in a way. I’m a teammate. With that, I’m pleased that I was able to play a few stretches to get this victory. I know he probably won’t say that, but it certainly is I think it means something to him.”
Donsic was at the heart of the Lakers’ offense from the start against Dallas. He missed the 3-pointer after the opening tip, but blocked the shot on Dallas’ first possession before adding a layup by James Moment and a layup to the 3-pointer.
Donsic was hyped as proven when he was his mouth hit by referee Pat Flaher for an early technical foul for overly protesting against non-call. Two teammates rushed to Donsic to make sure it didn’t get too far.
Dallas general manager Nico Harrison probably stakes his career in Donsic’s deals, but joined the game from a pre-match warmup. Donsic said he didn’t see him.
While Donsic filmed an early free throw, Lakers fans began singing back all night. “Thank you Nico! Thank you Nico!”
Mark Cuban, who sold his interest in controlling the Mavericks 14 months ago, also watched the game from courtside. The billionaire jokingly booed Donsic several times.
“It was bothering, but fun at the same time,” said Kyrie Irving, a Dallas Guard, a good friend of Donsic. “We had the opportunity to go to each other and feel like we were actually there again. It was a good point of reflection, and we saw the crowd cheering for him, and we were like that. Just moving it and seeing him make some of the tough shots he’s made thousands of times it probably got even more troublesome. But it was fun. It’s fun to compete. ”
Doncic was widely assumed to be one of the league’s best players at just 25 years old, especially after carrying the Mavs to the NBA Finals last season. Harrison thought not, and the Lakers enthusiastically gave up on the big man who won the championship, gaining young basic talent over the next decade.
This game would have been twice as noble if Anthony Davis was healthy, but the 10-time All-Star Big Man who worked with James to lead the Lakers to the 2020 Championship was the gro caliber. Injuries will leave at least two weeks in his Mavs debut.
Davis is still in the game and he received a standing ovation in the first quarter when the Lakers aired a long-time tribute video to the long-time center.
Los Angeles also welcomed Max Christie, the Lakers’ former round pick who grew into a starter this season before the trade. Christie scored all 10 points in the first half.
The next trade reunion should be even more insane. The Lakers visited Dallas on April 9th, and Mavs fans are already very vocal in dissatisfaction with Harrison and the Dallas ownership group.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
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