A ‘beautiful moment’ for Luka Dončić. A lingering nightmare for Dallas

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DALLAS — The tears stopped but the emotions didn’t.

Not for Luka Dončić, and not for the Dallas Mavericks fans who felt betrayed and wanted to show they didn’t endorse the organizational treachery that was performed by trading Dončić.

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The loyalty, the feeling and the connection illustrated by so many fans who packed Dallas’ American Airlines Center was to Dončić and not the franchise — perhaps because they don’t recognize what they see when the Mavericks step onto the floor every night.

But they recognized Dončić, even in purple and gold. Even in playing for the hated Lakers and coming out of that far tunnel opposed to the one across from the Mavericks bench — they knew him, grew with him and for the first time since that Saturday night in February, were able to honor him.

They recognized his wizardry, on full display in the Lakers’ 112-97 win as he scored 45 points with eight rebounds and six assists. It showed why the Mavericks fans never wanted him to leave and why the Lakers feel they have a legitimate shot at playing into June for the first time in a long time.

Dončić hopes for closure, but he’s nowhere near close to getting past this — and it’ll probably take Mavericks fans even longer if the weird scene is any indication. Dončić has this marquee franchise to play for, which could help him in some cathartic way.

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“It’s a hard question. For sure, it’s a little bit more — talking about closure. Sometimes it’s hard because I spent a lot of moments here,” Dončić said. “Great moments. But it’s getting more and more (normal). I got to focus on different things.”

Like playing with another genius playmaker in LeBron James and a growing mismatch problem in Austin Reaves, who feasts on lesser defenders. The behind-the-back passes, the stepback triples (he hit seven of them), entertaining the crowd — he played as if he was at home.

Dončić played as if he carried a franchise to the NBA Finals without having LeBron James as a teammate. He singled out the highlight of his game-winner over Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert in last year’s Western Finals as notable in his tribute.

He played as if he was a top-three player in the game, like the mere thought of trading him was crazy talk, like a fantasy that shouldn’t be treated with any seriousness. But it’s real, and it’s a nightmare for Dallas — some fans still in denial were proudly wearing shirts that read “Team Luka.”

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They cheered his every move, showering him with so much affection at various times through the night all he could do was put his own hands together to salute them at the end of the night — the take foul he committed in the final minutes was to give them another chance at a standing ovation, and a “Luka! Luka!” chant that had the Lakers players egging the crowd on to show more appreciation.

They took care of business after the Mavericks methodically stayed in the game and the home team actually took an 87-85 lead after a Klay Thompson triple with nine minutes left. But the moment was just a moment, unsustainable on most days let alone this one and the Lakers took control shortly thereafter.

“We had a small blip to start the fourth quarter but our guys had Luka’s back and he had his teammates back,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I thought LeBron in the second half, the amount of energy he expended on a second night of a back-to-back on both ends of the floor … he shaped stuff, he led our defense again.”

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The Mavericks have Anthony Davis instead of Dončić, who could muster only 13 points and 11 rebounds in his first game against the franchise he thought he’d end his career with. But this was never going to be emotional for Davis the way it was — the way it is — for Dončić. The stage, the moment and coming off Tuesday night’s fourth-quarter ejection in Oklahoma City meant Dončić had plenty to give, even if he was emotionally spent.

“It was a little bit of both, happy and angry, but it’s nice to see some familiar faces here,” Dončić said. “I was tired and I didn’t sleep much, excited about the game. I really appreciate the fans, the way they reacted to me.”

With their cheers — and derisive chants of Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, calling for his firing at so many stoppages in play Wednesday night, they showed whose side they stand firmly on.

Dončić’s cheeky face swelled even more during the two-minute highlight video that played before he was introduced, and, as these moments tend to do, reminded fans of the full career Dončić had in a short time in Dallas.

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How young he looked on draft night in 2018, when multiple teams passed up on him, enabling the Mavericks to benefit from others misfortune and bad choices. Now, they’re on the other side of it, watching the rich get richer because of their team’s misfortune.

Dončić’s tears were not unlike those of someone whose cheeks were hot before a fight — not out of fear but of awareness, of knowing what type of fury was going to be unleashed. Because even though they don’t want to fight, they’re in one and punishment must be delivered.

“Obviously, you saw the emotions on Luka’s face,” said James, who scored 19 of his 27 in the second half. “That was an unbelievable moment. Something I probably will never forget, to be part of that moment. And the kid had seven amazing seasons here. He went from a kid to a man and for all those moments, it all came together today.

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“You can call that an out of body experience then. He was locked in from start to finish.”

And it was done swiftly, easily and spectacularly much to the delight of the fans who cheered his every dribble, who only booed when he was called for a travel and chanted “MVP” when he was at the foul line.

Thirty-one of those 45 points came in the first half, following that emotion-filled tribute that would’ve made it hard for mere mortals to snap out of. But Redick called his effort “superhuman.”

“His ability to then perform, lights come on and he’s still teary-eyed as he walks on the court, to have the emotional resolve to put on that kind of performance, it’s superhuman,” Redick said. “What he went through for the last couple months, maybe some anticipation, maybe some dread.”

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As those tears streamed down Dončić’s face, as the cheers roared even more, perhaps the reality set in for all sides. Dallas was his kingdom and the Mavericks were his franchise. Unlike virtually every Laker great in recent memory, Dončić didn’t choose Los Angeles — he was sent there. Sure, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant were selected to wear Laker gold, but they had an amount of agency in matters.

Dončić did not pick the Lakers, even if he could very well be in the perfect situation for the next decade. The emotions are still very raw, and the Lakers have been respectful in how Dončić has dealt with the last two months.

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“The moment, the tribute video and him sitting by himself and getting to actually live that and live in the moment and allow himself to be vulnerable,” Redick said. “Some of his teammates got emotional, some of the coaches got emotional. It was a beautiful moment.”

Dončić has never been one to hide his emotions, and doesn’t appear to want to. He took one wistful look back at the Mavericks faithful, then disappeared into a haze of purple and gold jerseys, Laker fans who’ve cheerfully adopted him as their own — while his original adopted home wished the bad dream would end, and he would come back home.

This news was originally published on this post .

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