Luka Dončić gets his revenge vs. Mavericks, but ‘closure is going to take a while’

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LOS ANGELES — It would be easy for Luka Dončić to say that Tuesday’s game was cathartic, that seeing and slaying his old mates wearing Dallas Mavericks jerseys would be enough to cleanse himself of all the hurt feelings from being dumped, from being duped.

It would be easy for every “Thank you Nico” chant coming from the Lakers faithful to fill Dončić up, to make him feel like one of them — even if doing it against the backdrop of Anthony Davis getting a warm welcome with his video tribute makes it feel just a bit awkward.

But it doesn’t work like that, not for either side. It probably won’t be like that in a few weeks either, when the Los Angeles Lakers will be sure to play their first-ever home game in Dallas when Dončić returns for first time since being traded.

“The closure is going to take awhile, I think,” Dončić said. “I don’t know, it’s just not ideal. Like I said, I’m glad this game is over. There was a lot of emotions. It will go, little by little. Every day is better.”

Whatever this process is, it’ll be a slow burn and the Lakers have nothing but time in this instance. They’ve been slowly building a cohesive defense this season, slowly trying to figure out a way to maximize LeBron James’ remaining effectiveness and now have to detour to work in Dončić’s amazing talents before the postseason begins in two months.

In an emotional showdown Tuesday in Los Angeles, Luka Dončić dropped a triple-double to lead the Lakers over the Mavs, yet the wounds from his shocking trade still linger. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

Dončić’s triple-double is sure to be the first of many in a Laker uniform, as his energy paced the Lakers early against the Mavericks while James polished off the night with a fourth-quarter run.

The result was a workmanlike 107-99 win at Crypto.com Arena, in an emotionally charged atmosphere as almost all the energy was bracing for a Dončić explosion — one that unleashed all the hurt feelings, innuendo and betrayal Dončić has had to feel over the last few weeks. Almost predictably, Dončić was…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/luka-doncic-gets-his-revenge-vs-mavericks-but-closure-is-going-to-take-a-while-080338352.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2025-02-26 08:03:00

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