Luka Dončiċ records his first triple-double in purple and gold as Lakers defeat the Dallas Mavericks 107-99.
Luka Doncic, the talented Slovenian guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, drives to the basket in a heated NBA matchup against the Denver Nuggets.
AP Photo
This matchup has been heavily anticipated since the historic trade between the L.A. Lakers and Dallas Mavericks in early February. All eyes were on Slovenian superstar Luka Dončić as he dropped his first triple-double wearing a Lakers jersey and finished with a line score of 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting, 15 rebounds, 11 assists, three steals, and two blocks.
Dončić established his dominance in this contest early, scoring two deep-pointers and would occasionally glance over at the Mavericks bench. He also established early that he would be everywhere on the court, grabbing rebounds left and right and utilizing his teammates, such as Austin Reaves and Jaxson Hayes, who provided easy assists and were open throughout the night.
Crypto.com Arena was feeding off the vibes of the event as “Thank you, Nico” chants emerged from fans. These chants were about Maverick’s GM Nico Harrison, who was the one that offered Dončić to the Lakers.
This game started as a blowout, as the Lakers had a 16-point lead against Dallas and were utterly dominating the glass on both sides. The Mavericks capitalized on the Laker’s poor shooting percentage in the third, as they were within one point at the end of the quarter.
The Lakers were struggling to keep up on offense as the Maverick’s defense was becoming too much for the purple and gold. A late push in the final two minutes of the game pushed the Lakers ahead of the Mavericks with the help of LeBron James on the backcourt.
“Sometimes I didn’t know what I was doing … I am just glad that it’s over honestly,” Dončić said in his postgame interview.
The Lakers and Mavericks will meet one more time on April 9 at Dallas and it will be the first time Dončić will play in Dallas since he was traded.
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