Lakers’ Luka Doncic admits to “emotions” in the Dallas vs. Mavs matchup
DALLAS — The Los Angeles Lakers he earned a 116-110 victory Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night. Luka Doncic played well in his second game in Dallas as a visiting opponent, he leads the Lakers with 33 points. Mavs fans welcomed Doncic with open arms one more time. The star — who was traded almost exactly a year ago — is undoubtedly still a fan favorite in Dallas. Doncic admitted after the game that he still feels emotions even though this is his second time in Dallas since last year’s shocking trade.
“There are still emotions, believe me,” Dončić he told reporters after the game. “But a little better, a little easier for me… The way the fans accept me here, it’s amazing. I still have a lot of friends here, the players, some other people. I’m happy to be back for a little bit.”
Luka Doncic’s goal is still to win games regardless of who his opponent is. With that said, he admits though that Dallas is “special” to him, because he spent the first six and a half years of his career with the Mavericks.
“It is a special place. I will always want to win, no matter what,” said Doncic. “I mean, every game I want to win, but obviously this one is a little bit different … I want to win every game.”
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd wasn’t surprised by Doncic’s strong performance. He is obviously quite familiar with his game, and commented Luka’s game after Saturday’s competition.
“Oh, he was… Luke. He fills the stats,” Kidd said. “He was really good in that first quarter. We tried to throw him different things, and he saw everything. But I thought, for him, it was a Luke game. Realizing he’s trying to help his team win.”
The Lakers and Mavericks have two more games scheduled this season. LA will host the Mavs on February 12 before Luka Doncic and the Lakers return to Dallas on April 5.
2026-01-25 05:12:00
