Cnn
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The playmaker of the Los Angeles Lakers superstar, Luka Dončić, produced a masterful performance on Wednesday evening in his highly anticipated Homecoming of Dallas after being exchanged in the superb February blockbuster agreement.
Dončić finished with 45 points, equaling a summit of the season, while pulling 16 out of 28 on the field, including seven three points, eight rebounds, six assists and four interceptions in the victory of the Lakers 112-97. It was his 46th 40 -point career match when the Lakers won a place in the playoff series.
Fans of the American Airlines Center gave him a catchy standing ovation when he left the game with a minute and 34 seconds to play in settlement. Dončić applauded towards the crowd as he headed for the bench. The fans sang: “Luka! Luka! Luka!”
The Mavericks honored Dončić, who was the face of the franchise for more than six seasons and led Dallas to the 2024 NBA final, with a two-minute pre-match video during the introduction of the player.
Dončić asked for a towel before the video start. While the tribute played, the former Maverick was filled with emotions. After the end of the video, Dončić suffered tears before joining his teammates.
The crowd gave his favorite son a standing ovation. Mavericks Great and Basketball Hall of Famer, Dirk Nowitzki, who guided the franchise to his only NBA title in 2011, was present to show Dončić a little love.
After the match, Dončić said he had so many unexplained emotions watching the video.
“Everyone saw the way I reacted to the video, all these fans, I really appreciate it, all the teammates I had, everyone had their back,” he said in an interview on the ESPN field. “I am happy. I love these fans. I love this city, but it’s time to move on. ”
As for his 45 -point performance, Dončić said he didn’t know how he did it during such an emotional night.
“When I watched this video, I said to myself:” There is no way I play this game “, but you know that all my teammates had their backs. They really supported me, so I really appreciate it,” he added.
“I came as a young child here with 18 years, and I know this type of NBA, and it made me feel at home and it’s just a lot of good and good memories.”
Apart from his offensive production, Dončić said the best things about returning to Dallas were to be able to sleep in his bed and be back with the fans who supported him for six and a half years.
Dončić meant business at the start of the game.
The 26-year-old lost 31 points out of 11 shots out of 16, especially in nails six three points in the first 18 minutes to raise the Lakers to a 60-57 advance at halftime. It was the first half of 30 Dončić points as a laker.
During Dončić’s first match against his former team in February, he recorded a triple-double, finishing with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists during the home victory 107-99 of the Lakers.
The Mavericks fans base is still rabid with the direction of the franchise to exchange its favorite superstar. The director general of the team, Nico Harrison, who orchestrated the agreement, gained the weight of criticism.
The crowd chanted: “Fire Nico! Fire Nico!” Several times, with Harrison present.
Meanwhile, Anthony Davis, 10 times stars champion and 2020, with the Lakers, faced his former team for the first time since trade.
Davis collected 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in 33 minutes of defeat.
All the fans received a shirt that said in Slovenian: “Thank you for everything.” Many of them put on Dončić’s jersey number 77.
The average ticket for Wednesday’s match was $ 404, according to Vivid Seats, the highest for a regular season game since at least 2010.
The Lakers improved at 49-31 and will then welcome the Houston Rockets while the Mavericks fell to 38-42 and will face the Raptors of Toronto at home on Friday.
