Dallas Basketball

‘Head-Hunting’: Luka Doncic Attacks LeBron James In Clutch

Luka Doncic didn't just want the ball in his hands as the Dallas Mavericks closed out their latest victory, but he also made it a point to 'hunt' one-on-one matchups against the Los Angeles Lakers' best players LeBron James down the stretch.

Dalton Trigg

“Until you stomp me out, cut my head off and bury me 12-feet under, I still feel like I got a chance…"

Those were the colorful words of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James after he watched Luka Doncic's Dallas Mavericks walk away from Crypto.com Arena with a 109-104 victory. As hyperbolic as that statement might seem, James does have a point.

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Andrew D. Bernstein | Credit: NBAE via Getty Images

Doncic drives past James in the fourth quarter.

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Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

James backs down Doncic in the paint.

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Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Doncic takes a three-point shot over James.

After coming back from a 21-point deficit against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, the script was nearly flipped in LA on Tuesday, as the Mavs were the ones who held a 21-point lead over James' Lakers and almost let it slip.

Being down 15 points at halftime, James turned back the clock in the third quarter, making some big defensive plays and hitting multiple high-difficulty threes which helped the Lakers win the period, 31-14. As the Lakers built their newfound lead to as much as six points in the fourth, it felt as if the Mavs had blown an excellent opportunity to capture another big road win... until Doncic went head-hunting for 'The King.'

For those keeping score at home, that was five-consecutive successful possessions for the Mavs were Doncic attacked James head-on — one floater, two impressive mid-range fadeaways and two ‘gravitational pull’ assists to Jalen Brunson and Dwight Powell.

The Lakers aren’t a good team, and the Mavs should’ve never let them get back in the game. But this is the NBA, and any team can win on any given night, especially if they have a motivated LeBron James.

James did his best to send the Mavs home with a disappointing, big lead-blowing loss, but Doncic decided to ‘stomp out’ his childhood idol, and it sure did make for some entertaining theater.

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Dalton Trigg
DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.

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