On Tuesday evening, Luka Doncic played his first game against the Dallas Mavericks as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in what ultimately ended up being a narrow victory for Los Angeles. It wasn’t Doncic’s most efficient shooting night from the field, but the perennial MVP candidate did end up securing a triple double en route to knocking off his old team.
One person who was in attendance for this game was former Mavericks team owner Mark Cuban, who has made no secret of his affinity for Doncic over the years.
After the game, Cuban simply said “I hated it,” when asked what it was like to have to root against his former franchise player, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
Cuban also jokingly booed Doncic every time he touched the ball, per ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, which prompted Doncic at one point to say “Shut up, Mark,” with a smile.
Also in attendance for the contest was Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, who has quickly put himself on the short list of infamous figures in Dallas sports history with his decision to not only trade Doncic but then publicly bash him in the media afterwards.
A surreal scene in Los Angeles
While it may not have been the 50-point explosion that some fans were anticipating heading into the matchup, Luka Doncic still put together a strong performance against his former Mavericks teammates, constantly picking apart a defense that was operating without Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford, and Dereck Lively.
Down the stretch, it was Doncic’s teammate LeBron James making most of the plays for Los Angeles, including several clutch jump shots and some memorable defensive stops on the other end of the floor.
Los Angeles is now just a couple of games out of the second spot in the Western Conference playoff picture, which would net them home court advantage in at least the first two rounds of the playoffs should they advance that far. Meanwhile, the Mavericks lost their second straight game on their current West Coast trip after falling to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.
The Mavericks will next take the floor on Thursday at home vs the Charlotte Hornets.
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