The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks 107-99 on Feb. 25, in the Lakers stadium, in their first matchup since the trade of Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis.
Luka Doncic of the Lakers had a triple double of 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists against his former team the Dallas Mavericks, in which he said according to ESPN, “I’m just glad it’s over, honestly.”
Anthony Davis of the Mavericks was unable to play due to a left abductor strain which he suffered in his first game vs the Rockets.
When Luka got traded, there were a lot of emotions for him that he had to deal with as he had to process not being with his teammates that he has been with since 2018.
Luka’s former teammate Kyrie Irving even said according to ESPN that it felt awkward to play against his former teammate who had just played with him in the NBA finals back in June 2024.
Lakers coach JJ Redick said, according to ESPN, “There is no use avoiding the circumstances the schedule presents” — as strange as it might have felt for the Lakers players.