As Luka Doncic did push-ups during pregame warmups, his former general manager, Nico Harrison, watched from afar.
“I didn’t see him.” said Doncic about the man who shipped him off to LA, now watching him workout before the game. Adding to this, Doncic remarked that competing against the Mavs felt weird. “I don’t know, so weird. In the moment it felt like I didn’t know what I was doing. But I’m glad we got the win.”
These comments were reflected by Doncic’s 6/17 shooting performance, despite the triple double he recorded. Doncic had 19 points, 15 Rebounds, and 12 assists to go along with 3 steals and 2 blocks. Beside him, LeBron James had 27 points and 12 rebounds to boot. G Austin Reeves also had 20 points and 5 assists.
Newly acquired F Dorian Finney-Smith, however, contributed heavily in crunch time. With clutch defensive plays and a putback dunk late in the fourth quarter, Lakers Head Coach J.J. Redick said about the Lakers performance, stating that “We don’t win the game if ‘Bron doesn’t take over, and we don’t win the game if Dorian Finney Smith doesn’t make three massive plays.”
On the Mavericks side of the ball, G Kyrie Irving ended with 35 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. He was also active on the defensive end, swiping three steals and blocking two shots. Klay Thompson recorded 22 points on five 3-pointers. F P.J. Washington, while grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out five assists, went 0/9 from the field and 0/2 from three point land.
Things weren’t so good for the General Manager, either. Nico Harrison was taunted all night by the Laker faithful, with jeers thrown such as “Thanks for Luka, idiot!” and “Thank you Nico!” chants surrounding the arena. According to the New York Times, he did not express gratitude back to the Lakers fans.
The story about Luka Doncics’ trade just keeps getting crazier by the day. According to a new report from NBA Insider Marc Stein, Mavs General Manager Nico Harrison didn’t want “Planet Mavericks” to revolve around Luka Doncic. After Harrison made this realization, his number one priority was to trade Doncic by this summer. Doncic, who is 25, led the Mavericks to their first NBA Finals birth since 2011 last year before being defeated by the Boston Celtics.
Another report came out on the 26th of February from The Athletic, alleging that the Mavericks had a problem with Doncic drinking beer and smoking hookah. The New York Times, who broke this story, said that the people who witnessed Doncic’s last days as a Maverick didn’t have anything positive to say about his professionalism. Instead he was labeled as “overweight” and “lazy”. The article would then go on to mention that the Mavericks front office “predict his basketball demise, highlighting a health history that, as some see it, will likely lead to catastrophe in the next five or so years”.
The two teams will again on April 9th in Dallas. It is a mystery what tribute, if any, the Mavericks will have for the star of seven years with whom they parted ways a little under a month ago.
