The Dallas Mavericks' annual adversity test came early; without Kyrie Irving, who will be out for the foreseeable future with a foot injury, the responsibility to shoulder a huge offensive workload will fall once more on Luka Doncic's shoulders. While Doncic is very capable of doing so, that doesn't make the task any easier, especially when the Mavs faced LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night in the second game of a back-to-back set.

In the end, however, despite fielding a depleted roster against the winner of the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, it was Doncic and the Mavs that came out on top, 127-125, thanks in large part to another stellar night from the Slovenian wunderkind. Doncic put up 33 points, six rebounds, and 17 dimes in 43 minutes of play, a performance that's no joke given that he played in 44 minutes the night before against the Memphis Grizzlies.

As a result, Luka Doncic appears to be feeling all the wear and tear his body has been put through, but the Mavs star knows that all that exhaustion is worth it after claiming two statement wins amid Kyrie Irving's absence.

“I don't know how I played [vs. Lakers]. I slept very little today. Everything hurts. I’m getting old, man, but we got two back-to-back wins, which is amazing, especially against a team like the Lakers. So I'm really proud of these guys,” Doncic said in his postgame presser, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

Of course, given the linearity of time's passage, we all are getting old, one way or another. But even if one's joints get creakier and one's bones become more brittle the more time passes, getting older has the benefit of becoming wiser, and it seems like Luka Doncic is doing exactly just that for the Mavs.

But Doncic isn't even old in NBA standards; the Mavs star is only in his sixth NBA season, and he won't be turning 25 years of age until February. So for the foreseeable future, Doncic should have a few more of these heavy workload weeks, as his spry legs should be more than capable of weathering such punishing wear and tear.