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Emotional Luka Dončić drops 45 points in Dallas return as Lakers beat the Mavericks to clinch playoff berth

By CNN Newsource

Published April 9, 2025 11:52 pm

By Wayne Sterling, CNN

(CNN) — Los Angeles Lakers superstar point guard Luka Dončić produced a masterful performance Wednesday night in his highly-anticipated Dallas homecoming after being traded in the stunning February blockbuster deal.

Dončić finished with 45 points, tying a season high, while shooting 16-of-28 from the field, including seven three-pointers, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals in the Lakers 112-97 victory. It was his 46th career 40-point game as the Lakers clinched a playoff berth.

The fans at American Airlines Center gave him a rousing standing ovation as he checked out of the game with one minute and 34 seconds remaining in regulation. Dončić clapped to the crowd as he walked to the bench. Fans chanted, “Luka! Luka! Luka!”

The Mavericks honored Dončić, who was the face of the franchise for more than six seasons and led Dallas to the 2024 NBA Finals, with a two-minute pregame video during player introduction.

Dončić asked for a towel before the video started. As the tribute was playing, the former Maverick was filled with emotions. After the video concluded, Dončić wiped away tears before joining his teammates.

The crowd gave its favorite son a standing ovation. Mavericks great and Basketball Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki, who guided the franchise to its only NBA title in 2011, was in attendance to show Dončić some love.

After the game, Dončić said he had so many unexplained emotions watching the video.

“Everybody saw the way I reacted to the video, all these fans, I really appreciate it, all the teammates I had, everybody had my back,” he said in an on-court ESPN interview. “I’m happy. I love these fans. I love this city, but it’s time to move on.”

As for his 45-point performance, Dončić said he doesn’t know how he did it on such an emotional night.

“When I was watching that video, I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m playing this game,’ but you know all my teammates had my back. They were really supporting me, so I really appreciate that,” he added.

“I came as a young kid here with 18, and I know this type of NBA, and that made me feel like home and it’s just a lot of great, great memories.”

Outside of his offensive production, Dončić said the best things about coming back to Dallas were being able to sleep in his bed and being back with the fans that supported him for six-and-a-half years.

Dončić’s hot first half

Dončić meant business when the game started.

The 26-year-old dropped 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting, including nailing six three-pointers in 18 first half minutes to lift the Lakers to a 60-57 halftime lead. It was Dončić’s first 30-point half as a Laker.

In Dončić first game against his former team in February, he recorded a triple-double, finishing with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists in the Lakers’ 107-99 home win.

The Mavericks’ fan base is still enraged with the franchise’s leadership for trading away its favorite superstar. The team’s general manager, Nico Harrison, who orchestrated the deal, has taken the brunt of the criticism.

The crowd chanted, “Fire Nico! Fire Nico!” several times, with Harrison in attendance.

Meanwhile, Anthony Davis, the 10-time All-Star and 2020 NBA champion with the Lakers faced his former team for the first time since the trade.

Davis had 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in 33 minutes in the loss.

All fans were given a shirt that said in Slovenian, “Thanks for Everything.” Many of them donned the number 77 Dončić jersey.

The average ticket for Wednesday’s game was $404, according to Vivid Seats, the highest for a regular season home game since at least 2010.

Lakers improved to 49-31 and will next host the Houston Rockets while the Mavericks dropped to 38-42 and will take on the Toronto Raptors at home on Friday.