LUKA Doncic had a dominant showing in his Dallas return, leading Los Angeles Lakers to a 112-97 victory against his former team, the Mavericks, in the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines) at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
Doncic, who was traded by the Mavericks to the Lakers for Anthony Davis last February, scored 31 of his 45 points to go with eight rebounds and six assists, guiding the Lakers to a playoff seat-clinching victory.
LeBron James posted 27 points and seven boards, and Rui Hachimura added 15 points as the Lakers improved to a 49-31 win-loss slate to remain at third spot in the Western Conference standings.
Down 26-30 after the opening quarter, the Lakers leaned on Doncic’s 17-point outburst in the second period as they took a 60-57 halftime lead, which later grew to 78-65 in the third quarter.
The Mavericks countered with a run to take an 84-83 edge, but the Lakers responded with a 9-0 blast en route to establishing a 110-94 lead after a stepback three-pointer from Doncic with over a minute left.
Naji Marshall finished with 23 points and eight assists to lead Dallas, P.J. Washington added 14 markers, and Anthony Davis tallied 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as they fell to a 38-42 record.
Meanwhile, Harrison Barnes knocked down a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer as San Antonio Spurs stunned Golden State Warriors, 114-111, at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.
Barnes, a former member of the Warriors’ champion team, broke the 111-all score with a three-pointer from the left wing against the defense of Golden State guard Jimmy Butler.
Barnes finished the game with 20 points to back up rookie Stephon Castle and Keldon Johnson, who both finishes with 21 markers to lead the way for the Spurs, now with a 33-47 win-loss slate.
Stephen Curry led the way for the Warriors with 30 points, Butler added 28 markers, while Draymond Green contributed 13 markers as they dropped to a 47-33 win-loss slate./PN
