DALLAS — It would’ve been a safe bet that Luka Dončić would’ve hit his 1,500th career three-point shot and played his 17,000th career minute in Dallas. Until a year ago, no one could’ve imagined he’d do those things in a Lakers uniform against the Mavericks.
In his second game ever as an opponent in the American Airlines Center, Dončić became the youngest player ever to make 1,500 threes, besting Jayson Tatum by 32 days.
It didn’t matter. The way things ended in his second trip back as a Lakers player was going to overshadow any accomplishment. Instead of it being about Dončić, it was about the Lakers, sprinting back into a game they nearly coughed up.
The Lakers came back from down 15 with less than eight minutes to play to beat the Mavericks 116-110, Rui Hachimura, Marcus Smart, LeBron James and Jake LaRavia making as many big plays as Dončić down the stretch.
The Lakers have now beaten Dallas in each of the four games the two teams have played since the trade.
“There were still emotions, trust me,” Dončić said. “But a little bit better, a little bit easier for me. Obviously, like I said before, how the fans accept me here, it’s unbelievable.”
The Lakers scored a season-low 14 points in the third quarter, going scoreless over a four-minute stretch where they either turned the ball over or missed a layup on nine consecutive offensive possessions. Dallas flipped the game, playing all the energy and momentum while the Lakers couldn’t even get the ball to the basket for a shot attempt.
Their 13-point lead had vanished, and with it, a chance to win.
But in the fourth quarter, when things were bleakest, the Lakers again found their energy on both ends of the court.
Dončić sealed the win with a magical side-stepping layup immediately followed by a drawn charge. He finished with 33 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists — following JJ Redick’s instructions to trust the pass — and with it, his teammates, after the Lakers lost to the Clippers.
“Luka wants to win,” Redick said. “And so I’m not surprised that he (responded). A-plus. He played a fantastic game, and he orchestrated things for us early to get us the lead. And then he orchestrated things for us late, and he just continued to make the right play over and over. Had a lot of confidence in his teammates and his teammates responded with some big-time shots.”
Four Lakers scored at least seven points in the fourth, led by 11 from LeBron James. Hachimura made back-to-back threes, Smart got a key steal and scored on an and-1 to help kickstart the Lakers’ run back into the game. And Dončić did the job on both ends of the court, Redick saying that Dončić got six straight stops on plays where the Mavericks targeted him in the fourth.
His only hiccup came at halftime, when Dončić began to walk towards the Mavericks’ locker room before turning around and heading off in the opposite direction towards the Lakers’ locker room.
“It’s a special place,” Dončić said of Dallas. “I’m always going to want to win, no matter what. Every game I want to win, but, obviously, this win is a little different. But again, I want to win every game.”
The crowd still was behind Dončić, cheering for him as he was introduced first with the visiting starters and even chanting MVP at one point in the first half while he shot free throws.
They were very much still invested in the relationship, even if the Mavericks as an organization want to look ahead.
Asked pregame if he wishes he could’ve stopped the Feb. 1, 2025, trade that sent Dončić to the Lakers for the injured Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick, coach Jason Kidd said he was committed to the future instead of reflecting on anniversaries.
“I think it’s one year. Next year will be two years. After that, it’ll be three. We’ll just keep counting. Luka’s moved on, and we’ve moved on,” Kidd said. “He’s playing extremely well. He’s leading the league in scoring. He has his team in the hunt. For that, we wish him the best. That’s the business of basketball; you’ve got to move forward.”
For Dončić, the return to Dallas came with less fanfare than his first game back last season, when the crowd alternated showering him with praise and showering former general manager Nico Harrison with scorn for trading him. Still, Sunday was special.
“I was happy to be back here. I went to my house. I saw my cars. But, obviously, it’s always going to be emotions. I really appreciate how they cheered for me when I was introduced. It’s always going to be a special place for me.”
Saturday’s game took place in front of a mostly full crowd, somewhat surprisingly because of a combination of rain, sleet, ice and snow that had flights cancelled and roads in the region mostly empty because of safety concerns.
ABC/ESPN’s Lisa Salters, originally slated to work the game as a sideline reporter, didn’t make it to Dallas because of weather-related travel issues.
“That was really special,” Dončić said. “I didn’t know what to expect before because I know how the city gets when the weather is this bad. But I really appreciate a lot of people showing up.”