In case your knowledge of Slovenian–or your ability to Google–isn’t quite as pronounced as mine, be aware that the word with those odd accent marks in the title translates to “revenge”.
And as a enthusiastic Crypto.com Center crowd and a national TV audience got to witness, the newest darling of Los Angeles sports fans was able to extract more than a smattering of that last night. NBC 4 NEW YORK’s Greg Beacham provided the basic details:
Luka Doncic had 19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists in his first game against the Dallas Mavericks since they traded him to the Lakers, leading Los Angeles to a 107-99 victory Tuesday night.
Doncic secured his first triple-double with the Lakers on an emotional night for the Slovenian superstar, who was blindsided by the seismic trade sending him to Los Angeles for Anthony Davis three weeks ago.
James helped his new teammate by scoring 16 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter while Los Angeles held on for its third straight win and its 13th in 16 games.
But as UPI’s Alex Butler chronicled, there was a lot more that was simmering beneath the surface of those significant but otherwise cold statistics in play:
One of the most emotion-fueled moments of the game came when Doncic hit his lone 3-pointer with about six minutes remaining in the first quarter. Forward Dorian Finney-Smith tracked down a loose ball on the play. He threw a pass to Doncic just before he could fall out of bounds. Doncic caught the bounce pass, squared up and hit the deep shot for a 19-14 Lakers lead.
He then turned and looked at the Mavericks bench, shouting toward the area in celebration of the shot.
“It was a lot of emotions, obviously,” Doncic said. “I can’t even explain it. It was a different game. … Sometimes I didn’t know what I was doing. I’m just glad it’s over, honestly.”
For the Lakers, fresh off a surprisingly easy road win in Denver on Saturday night where Doncic scored 32 points and sent a message to the team that has ended their last two seasons’ playoff runs that things might just go a little differently this spring. And James, who was already defying Father Time by playing at a high and consistent level in his 22nd NBA season, has arguably become even more motivated and cooperative than he was at any point during his tenure in Los Angeles–including the asterisked 2020 bubble title he and former wingman Anthony Davis, who the Mavericks’ GM Nico Harrison coveted so dearly that he was willing to essentially trade Doncic virtually head-up for (sorry, Max Christie, you don’t quite balance the scales)–led the path to. Davis has played exactly one game as a Maverick before succummbing to yet another injury and watched glumly from the visitors’ side of a court he called home as of last month. He did show up to accept accolade from the crowd who acknowledges what he did but also know they are waaaay better off now with a motivated, younger and now clearly motivated Doncic instead.
Still, Davis didn’t get anywhere near the degree of positive reception as the current Lakers did, let alone one other person of prominence in the crowd that ATHLON SPORTS’ Ayomide Adeduyite was compelled to write about:
Mavericks GM Nico Harrison decided to trade Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in one of the most controversial trades in NBA history, and was at the Crypto.com Arena to watch the game. Following a bright start to the game by Doncic, Lakers fans were quick to let Harrison know that they were thankful for the trade.
While Doncic walked up to take free throws in the second quarter, fans erupted with a chant aimed at Harrison:
Sure it was tongue-in-cheek praise, and obvious trolling. But I dare say Harrison’s gonna be far more warmly received in this arena than he will be at his own in Dallas for a long, long time to come. And come April 9th, during the final week of the regular season when playoff positioning will likely be determined, the Lakers will indeed be visiting American Airlines Center for Doncic’s first game back in the Metroplex.
I have more than a hunch they’ll be even more Maščevanje in play that night.
Courage…