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LeBron James Used One Word to Describe How Luka Doncic Handled First Game vs. Mavs

Andy Nesbitt

Luka Doncic had a triple-double in his first game vs. his former team.
Luka Doncic had a triple-double in his first game vs. his former team. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
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Luka Doncic faced his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, for the first time Tuesday night since the stunning trade earlier this month that sent him to the Los Angeles Lakers. The 25-year-old guard had a big night, too, finishing with a triple-double (19 points, 15 rebounds, 12 assists) in a 107-99 win at home.

It was an emotional night for Doncic, who kicked it off by doing something awesome for Lakers fans and then wowed them with with his play during the big win.

When asked after the game how he thought Doncic handled facing his old team, LeBron James used one word, saying his star teammate did it all "tremendously."

"Obviously there's a lot of emotion that goes in when you give so much to a franchise and you sacrifice for a franchise and you have that type of love and respect for a franchise—throughout all the journeys," James said. "They went to the Finals, all that stuff. He's grown from being an 18, 19-year-old kid to now a 25-year-old man with a family. And when you move on or they move on from you, it's very emotional, obviously. It's very taxing. It's probably a lot of things that were going on in his head that probably didn't even involve the game itself. And with that said, I thought he handled it tremendously."

The Lakers have now won three straight games, and eight of their last 10. They sit in the fourth spot in the West and are looking like a team that can be a problem in the playoffs. The addition of Doncic seems to be going pretty well.

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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