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Everyone who has seen Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic play in the past knew that he would be coming at the Dallas Mavericks with a vengeance on Wednesday night. Doncic has consistently played some of his best against teams or players who have wronged him or made him angry in some way, so a big game in his Dallas return was inevitable.
Doncic did just that, but he even took it up an extra notch in this game. The former Mavericks star put up an efficient 45 points on 16-for-28 shooting and 7-for-10 from 3-point range. He also added eight rebounds, six assists, four steals and finished as a plus-26 in a 112-97 win for Los Angeles.
In fact, Doncic's final stat line was unique in NBA history. No other player had ever put up those numbers in a single game, according to OptaStats.
The Mavericks fans even seemed to be on Doncic's side all night long. All night, they cheered when he touched the ball and when he scored while chanting his name and serenading him with some MVP chants throughout the evening. On top of that, the crowd broke into a very loud “fire Nico” chant almost every time either team went to the free throw line and at the end of the game.
This game could also be a launchpad for a Lakers team that has been playing well, but has also been waiting for the best version of Doncic to show up consistently. There has obviously been no reason to sound the alarm considering the fact that he was coming off of a calf injury when he got to Los Angeles and has to mesh with his new teammates, but the Lakers need him at his best if they want to compete for a championship this season.
If Doncic can take this performance, bottle it, and keep producing moving forward, the Lakers will be a force to be reckoned with in the Western Conference. Obviously, replicating such an epic outing will be hard to do, but that is the Doncic that NBA fans have come to know and love, and he makes the Lakers a serious contender.
