Feb 25, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

nba

“I am just glad it’s over” – Luka Doncic gives an honest statement after Mavericks vs Lakers

Luka Doncic faced the Dallas Mavericks for the first time since the trade.

For the first time in his career, Luka Doncic was up against Dallas Mavericks, a team he has carried in both his heart and on his shoulders since 2019. For many, it was a surreal sight; for Mavericks fans, it was nothing short of heartbreaking.

It was a highly-anticipated game and Doncic didn’t downplay the matchup either. After the game, the 25-year-old admitted he was “hyped” and in some moments, didn’t know “what he was doing.”

“This was so weird, some moments felt like I don’t know what what I was doing. But I’m glad we gotta win”, Doncic said.

In the first quarter of the game, Doncic seemed determined to prove a point against his former team. His first, and only 3-pointer of the game, followed by a fierce stare at the Mavs bench, left no doubt about his intent.

When asked about how he felt scoring against his former team, the 5-time All-Star admitted it was hard to put into words. “As I said, I can’t remember,” he said. “It was just a lot of emotions, and I can’t even explain. It was a different game. Like I said, sometimes I don’t know what I was doing and you know I’m just glad it’s over honestly.

Also Read:

Luka’s historic triple-double helps Lakers record 8th straight win

Luka had himself a night in Lakers’ 107-99 win against his former team. The 25-year-old put up 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists on 35/14/75 shooting from the field. Doncic put together an impressive stat line in the first half, becoming the first player since 1996 to record 12 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in either half of a game. Remarkably, he achieved all of this in the first half alone.

With his 81st career triple-double, the Slovenian joined LeBron James and Russell Westbrook as just the third player in NBA history to record a triple-double against all 30 teams.

The Lakers are now 4th in the Western Conference standings with 35-21 record. They will next face Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, Feb 27.

Dallas Mavericks

Los Angeles Lakers

Luka Doncic

Swati Bhatia

nba

mlb

wnba

I work as a content strategist, specializing in creating engaging content about the NBA, WNBA, and MLB. My main focus is on writing breaking news updates, research-based articles, and covering trending topics. Right now, I’m leading the content team for the NBA, WNBA, and MLB categories at Playoffs English.