The Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks are battling it out on Wednesday night in a very emotional American Airlines Center. In addition to all of the playoff ramifications that are on the line, the stakes feel even higher because of the reunion between Luka Doncic and the Mavericks and between Anthony Davis and LeBron James' Lakers.

The big story coming into the night was Doncic's return to Dallas and all of the emotions that came with that, both from Doncic and from the Mavericks fans in the arena. Doncic was in tears during a tribute video pregame before playing an insane first half that saw him go into the locker room with 31 points.

The other side of the reunion is that Davis is playing against the Lakers for the first time since the trade after missing the first meeting in Los Angeles due to an adductor injury. Since the trade, speculation had been flying about whether LeBron James knew about the trade or whether he signed off on the trade, but it appears he and Davis are all good.

Before the game, the two of them shared a dap and brought fans back to the good old days with their old handshake.

Later in the game, the two were seen exchanging some trash talk on the court.

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A little later on, the two were seen laughing and jokingly shoving each other. After rumors of a rift between the two stars, they look like a pair of siblings getting back together after a few months apart.

There's no question that James and Davis will go down as one of the most iconic pairings in the history of the NBA after winning the NBA Finals together in 2020. Now, James has his next costar in Doncic, and the Lakers are chasing a championship in year one of the pairing.

Doncic is also likely to be the future face of the Lakers after LeBron James moves on, but he isn't thinking about that now. At the moment, Doncic seems to be rounding into the kind of form that can make the Lakers into a serious contender come playoff time in just a few weeks.