You come at the Mavs' king, you best not miss. That's a lesson Detroit Pistons assistant coach Jerome Allen learned Monday night when Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic said some words to him near the end of the contest.

Apparently, Allen was all over Luka Doncic from the sidelines for nearly the entire game, and the Mavs superstar was not simply going to let the night end without saying his own piece, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

“I mean, since the first quarter, he was chirping,” Doncic said after his NBA-leading fourth 50-point performance of the season. “You know I'll chirp back. From the first quarter, he was chirping. I don't want to say the words. I have no problem with that. It's basketball. It gets me going for sure.”

Luka Doncic didn't really need to do that, though. His performance was loud enough of a comeback to anything Allen said to him during the game. Doncic unloaded 53 points to lead the Mavs to a 111-105 home win, making 17 of 24 attempts from the field and 5 of 11 from deep. He also added five assists, eight rebounds, and two steals in 36 minutes of brilliance. The 53-point outburst was the fifth 50-point outing for Luka Doncic so far in his NBA career and the fourth this season.

Pistons head coach Dwane Casey, meanwhile, downplayed the exchange between Luka Doncic and Allen.

“It's a bunch of nothing, a bunch of nothing,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “We've seen worse. Remember I coached Gary Payton and Kevin Garnett, so that tonight was zero as far as chirping. I liked it. I thought it really got us going, and that's the way it should be with competitive guys. Doncic is competitive as heck. I love the way he plays, the way he carries himself, and I love the way our guys responded. They weren't intimidated. So it's all good. It was clean, nothing dirty about it.

The Mavs next play the New Orleans Pelicans at home on Thursday.