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A week away from the one-year anniversary of Luka Dončić shockingly being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, the All-NBA guard finished with 33 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists in a 116-110 win over the Dallas Mavericks. This was Dončić’s second time back in Dallas since being traded, but his first since the firing of former general manager Nico Harrison, the architect of Dončić’s infamous departure.
LeBron James finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists on 7-for-15 shooting on a relatively quiet night for the future Hall of Famer. Rui Hachimura finished with 17 points off the bench, including a number of key late fourth-quarter buckets. Starters Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart combined for 26 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
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Coming into Saturday night, though, the most prominent talking point was the return of Dončić to the place he called home for seven seasons. There were no tears from Dončić this time, nor was there a tribute video or standing ovation from the American Airlines Center crowd, but Dončić’s importance to that arena, the Mavericks and city of Dallas as a whole will never be diminished.
“The significance of this will probably be there for the rest of his career,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick told reporters before the game. “This is where it started for him, made his first Finals appearance, where he was drafted.”
After a slow start which saw the Lakers miss seven of their first 10 shots, with minimal ball movement against a Mavericks defense intent on slowing Dončić down, the Slovenian responded aggressively to Dallas’ array of coverages, scoring 12 points and guiding Los Angeles to a nine-point lead after the opening frame.
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Los Angeles opted for a 2-3 zone against a Dallas team ranked in the bottom five in every 3-point shooting category, aiming to keep its opponent closer to the rim to prevent downhill drives. The Mavericks, despite their shooting troubles, opened the second half on a furious 16-0 run to take the lead — and stretched it to 15 at one point — but could not hold on, with the Lakers roaring back in the fourth on a…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/luka-doncic-leads-lakers-to-comeback-win-over-mavericks-in-return-to-dallas-041116966.html
Author : Kelly Iko
Publish date : 2026-01-25 04:11:00
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