Emotions are running very high on Wednesday night as the Los Angeles Lakers are in Dallas to take on the Mavericks. Of course, this game marks the return to Dallas for Luka Doncic after he was shockingly traded to the Lakers a few months ago.

After a very emotional pregame ceremony, including a tribute video that brought Doncic to tears, he got straight to business in the first quarter. The Slovenian superstar drilled a pair of 3-pointers and got to the rim at will to the tune of 14 points in the opening period.

Doncic's full skill set was on display, and he gave Mavericks fans a taste of what they are missing now that he is in Los Angeles. Expect more Doncic heroics throughout the night in a close battle that has major playoff implications in the Western Conference.

The star guard didn't stop after the first quarter. He stayed hot into his second stint through the second quarter and went into the locker room for halftime with 31 points on 11-for-16 shooting and 6-for-8 from 3-point range as the Lakers took a 60-57 lead. Doncic also added three rebounds and three assists.

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Doncic has struggled shooting the ball at times since joining the Lakers, but he also took some time to get back up to speed after coming back from a calf injury that proved to be his last moment on the court in a Mavericks uniform. Now, he is gearing up for the playoffs as he looks to replicate some of his epic postseason runs over the years for the purple and gold.

On top of the importance of getting this win, considering the personal nature of the matchup for Doncic, the Lakers need to beat the Mavericks in order to stay in a good position in the Western Conference playoff race. The Lakers are in the pole position to earn the No. 3 seed in the postseason, but they only have a one-game cushion for that spot.

As a result, they must keep stacking wins to stay there. Doncic is clearly determined to do just that on Wednesday night.