The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 112-97 in Luka Doncic’s return to the American Airlines Center on Wednesday night. Doncic overcame early emotions following a heartwarming tribute video to score 45 points in the win. Lakers head coach JJ Redick referred to Luka’s ability to play at an elite level amid the emotions “super-human.” Doncic, who was traded for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a first-round pick, was asked about AD after the game.
“We got traded for each other so now everybody is going to compare us,” Luka Doncic told reporters. “He’s (Davis) an amazing player and I think he’s going to do really good in Dallas.”
Davis scored 13 points and recorded 11 rebounds in his first game against his former team. For Doncic, it technically wasn’t his first game against the Mavs, as he played when Dallas visited Los Angeles in late February. AD, however, was injured for that game.
Luka Doncic on Anthony Davis:
“We got traded for each other so now everybody is going to compare us… He’s an amazing player and I think he’s going to do really good in Dallas.”#MFFL pic.twitter.com/tL2rLbPQtn
— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) April 10, 2025
Davis would have surely liked to have played better against the Lakers. The Lakers played impressive defense against AD and the Mavs, though. Dallas ended up only scoring 97 total points in the defeat as a result.
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Luka Doncic locked in as Lakers defeat Mavericks
The Lakers’ offense endured its share of ups and downs overall, but Luka Doncic was locked in throughout the affair. He even scored 31 points in the first half.
Luka Doncic unquestionably made a statement on Wednesday night in Dallas. The Mavericks were the only NBA team he had ever played for before the shocking trade in early February.
The fans in Dallas welcomed Doncic back to his old arena with open arms. They cheered when he touched the ball and screamed when he scored on Wednesday night. The fans still cheered for the Mavs players as well, but all of the attention was clearly on Doncic.