LOS ANGELES — As Luka Dončić prepared to run out of the Los Angeles Lakers’ tunnel for his pregame warmup, he was serenaded with cheers and applause by multiple rows of fans wearing No. 77 Lakers and Slovenia jerseys lining the railings.
From the fanfare outside the arena, including a parked Laker-themed Koenigsegg Regera from Jordan Brand, to the chaos inside the arena, including media members filling the baseline and forcing the Lakers to upgrade to a bigger news conference room, the gravity of the emotionally charged moment was clear.
The Lakers’ DJ quickly shifted from hip-hip to Serbian music as Dončić started shooting left-handed floaters. On the other side of the floor, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison watched Dončić warm up while he leaned against the scorer’s table. A few feet away from him, Anthony Davis, who remains out with an abdominal injury, took set shots around the floor before finishing his warm-up with free throws.
The principal figures — sans Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka, who emerged from the Lakers’ locker room a bit later — were front and center. Dončić on one end, Harrison and Davis on the other. The new normal was still jarring despite over three weeks having passed since the stunning Feb. 1 blockbuster trade.
In an emotional reunion against his former franchise, teammates and coaches, Dončić finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists — his first triple-double as a Laker and fourth of the season — as the Lakers outlasted the Mavericks 107-99.
“I think with him, he’s at his best when he has that balance of joy and playfulness and that killer mentality,” coach JJ Redick said pregame. “Just perfectly living in the moment of competition. And he’ll find that tonight.”
Dončić found his moment midway through the first quarter when he drilled a 29-foot 3-pointer off an offensive rebound from Dorian Finney-Smith. Dončić turned toward his former team and bench and let out one of his trademark stares and roars.
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
From that moment on, Dončić, still finding his footing with the Lakers, commanded the offense. He had plenty of help from LeBron James (27 points and 12 rebounds) and Austin Reaves (20 points and five assists) as the Lakers outscored the Mavericks 11-5 over the final 3:15.
Kyrie Irving had 35 points and seven rebounds for Dallas. Klay Thompson had 22 points and eight rebounds.
After the game, multiple Lakers players, including Reaves, Finney-Smith, Jaxson Hayes, Cam Reddish and Markieff Morris, walked over to the Mavericks’ bench to greet former teammates Davis and Max Christie.
The Lakers honored Davis with a video tribute during the first timeout of the first quarter.
The Lakers just honored Anthony Davis with a video tribute during the first timeout pic.twitter.com/Z1NewMXFxy
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) February 26, 2025
The Lakers improved to 35-21 and No. 4 in the Western Conference. The Mavericks dropped to 31-28 and No. 9 in the West.
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(Photo: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
