Luka Doncic did not disappoint in his revenge game against the Mavericks at Crypto.com Arena last night.
The very General Manager who called for his trade, Nico Harrison, was there to watch, and boy did Luka put on a show.
He recorded a triple double of 19 points, 15 rebounds, 12 assists, two blocks and three steals. Early in the first half, he drained a three and stared down the Dallas bench, all while Harrison watched on.
“It was just a lot of emotions and not much sleep,” Luka said. “I can’t even explain [it]. It was a different game. … Sometimes I don’t know what I was doing.
Doncic said he still needs time to let the the shock of the trade and his new situation sink in.
“The closure is going to take a while, I think,” Doncic said. “It’s not ideal. But like I said, I’m glad this game is over. There was a lot of emotions. But we go little by little, and every day is better.”
LeBron James was proud of the way Luka handled himself on the night.
“Obviously there’s a lot of emotion that goes in when you give so much to a franchise and you sacrifice for a franchise and you have that type of love and respect for a franchise — throughout all the journeys,” James said. “They went to the Finals, all that stuff. He’s grown from being an 18-, 19-year-old kid to now a 25-year-old man with a family. … And when you move on or they move on from you, it’s very emotional, obviously. It’s very taxing.
“It’s probably a lot of things that were going on in his head that probably didn’t even involve the game itself. And with that said, I thought he handled it tremendously.”
Luka’s former teammate Kyrie Irving, who finished the night with a game-high 35 points, called the match up “awkward as sh*t”.
“But,” Irving added, “at the same time, it was fun. We got a chance to feel like we were in practice all over again going at each other. That was a good reflection point. And then just seeing the crowd cheer for him and just get him going … it was fun competing.”
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