DALLAS — Luka Doncic was met with a chorus of cheers when he strolled onto the court at American Airlines Center to do his pregame shooting routine.
“We love you Luka,” the fans chanted. “We love you.”
Doncic smiled and waved toward the crowd. He had spent six-plus seasons playing for the Mavericks, a place he thought he would call home for his entire career as the face of the franchise.
But a stunning, three-team trade last year sent Doncic to the Lakers.
Doncic returned to Dallas for the second time since the trade, leading the Lakers to a 116-110 comeback win on cold and icy Saturday night.
Doncic was magnificent with 33 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds as he improved to 4-0 against his former team.
“Obviously, there’s always going to be emotions,” Doncic said. “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.”
LeBron James finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Rui Hachimura had 17 points and eight rebounds and Marcus Smart had 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
“I’m always going to want to win, no matter what,” Doncic said. “But obviously this win is a little different.”
The Lakers (27-17) led by 14 points at one point before going down by 15 in the fourth quarter.
They made a stirring comeback late in the fourth quarter behind Hachimura, who went on a 7-0 run. He made a three-pointer while being fouled and made the subsequent free throw. He then hit another three to put the Lakers ahead 108-106, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“I think we were sharing the ball today and Luka was getting double-teamed in the last five minutes. So, I think that was a good look for us,” Hachimura said. “We talked about how we had to share the ball and find each other and I ended up shooting the last shot. So, yeah, I think it was good by the whole team.”
Hachimura was six for 13 from the field and four for seven from three-point range.
Lakers forward Rui Hachimura celebrates after scoring against the Mavericks in the second quarter Saturday.
(Julio Cortez / Associated Press)
“He took his shots tonight,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “And we’re all very confident in him. He’s a laser. He’s a fantastic shooter. The four-point play followed by the three, that seven-point swing where we’re down five and go up two in the matter of 30 seconds was huge.”
After Cooper Flagg made one of two free throws, Smart grabbed a rebound off a missed Hachimura three-pointer and scored despite dislocating his right index finger earlier in the quarter.
“I was like, ‘I don’t want to come out of the game, so I’m trying to pop it back in real quick,’” Smart said. “It was able to go back in.”
James followed Smart’s play with a tip-in. Doncic made two free throws to finish off the Mavericks (19-27) after Naji Marshall was called for a charge.
In the first quarter, Doncic shot a three-pointer over Brandon Williams to give him 1,500 career threes, making him the youngest player in NBA history to accomplish the feat.
“There were still emotions, trust me. But a little bit better, a little bit easier for me,” Doncic said. “How the fans accept me here, it’s unbelievable. I still got a lot of friends here, players, some other people. So I’m happy to be back a little bit.”
This story originally appeared on LA Times
