Luka Doncic on Saturday night walked toward the wrong locker room at halftime before a quick U-turn by the Lakers star in his second trip to Dallas since the shocking trade that sent him to Los Angeles almost a year ago.
At least he was not weeping on the bench before the game against the Mavericks, or still trying to process the emotions and everything that was new in the wake of a deal that stunned everybody in pro sports, not just the NBA.
A big fourth-quarter rally by the Lakers in a 116-110 victory over Dallas was a nice bonus for Doncic, who took another step toward the rest of his career with a visit to his first NBA city that was not nearly as emotional as his return in April last year.
Photo: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
“There’s still emotions, trust me,” the NBA’s scoring leader said after going for 33 points and 11 assists and beating Dallas for the fourth time in four tries. “But a little bit better, a little bit easier for me. It’s unbelievable. I’ve still got a lot of fans here, players, some other people. I’m happy to be back.”
Doncic has tried to be clear that he is moving on after he wept on the LA bench during a video tribute when he was introduced before the game in Dallas last year.
The latest win snapped the Mavericks’ season-best streak of four straight victories — form that contrasts with the Lakers, who had lost six of their previous nine outings.
Doncic said the Dallas stadium is “always a special place for me,” joking that at halftime he had begun “going to the other tunnel... I was kind of confused.”
The game opened with veteran superstar LeBron James scoring at one end and last year’s draft first overall pick Cooper Flagg — 22 years his junior — responding immediately at the other.
Early in the game, Doncic became the youngest player in NBA history to score his 1,500th career three-pointer.
Maybe the next visit would be even a little bit easier.
“This is one year, and next year it’ll be two years and after that it’ll be three and we’ll just keep counting,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “Luka’s moved on, and we’ve moved on.”
Elsewhere on Saturday, the New York Knicks downed the Philadelphia 76ers 112-109, the Charlotte Hornets stung the Washington Wizards 119-115, the Cleveland Cavaliers outplayed the Orlando Magic 119-105, the Chicago Bulls gored the Boston Celtics 114-111 and the Miami Heat silenced the Utah Jazz 147-116.
Additional reporting by staff writer, with AFP
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS