Wednesday night saw Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers clinch a top-six seed in the Western Conference with a win over the Dallas Mavericks. But almost more importantly, it saw a relatively new team have complete support for one another as Doncic dealt with the emotions of his return to Dallas.
It was well-known that Wednesday’s return would be difficult for Doncic. And while he dropped 45 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals on incredible efficiency, the off-court story was the way the full Lakers roster supported Luka. They cheered along with Mavericks fans any time he scored, and joined in the standing ovation when he checked out for the final time. The whole team was there for every step of the difficult night.
Doncic was undoubtedly appreciative of everything the Lakers did for him throughout the game, saying that it helped them grow as a cohesive unit to be there for each other like that in such a big game on and off the court, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Big time because they all had my back. That’s what we talked about before the game and everybody had my back, from coaches to players. We’re trying to build something special here, and that was really, really nice to see.”
Doncic then turned his attention to the on-court accomplishment of winning, securing a playoff spot and moving one win closer to clinching the No. 3 seed:
“It’s big time that we clinched a playoff spot. That’s big time, you don’t want to play in the Play-In, you get some rest. But obviously we want the third seed and we’re gonna go after it for sure.”
Wednesday’s win over the Mavericks is the kind of the thing that can help bond a team in a short period of time. Even though this iteration of the Lakers has existed for just about two months, they do truly feel like a tight-knit group, and that chemistry is going to be huge when the playoffs begin.
And if the Lakers do go on a deep run, the support for Luka in his return could be pinpointed as a reason why they were able to do so.
JJ Redick impressed by Luka Doncic
Lakers head coach JJ Redick called Luka Doncic’s ability to perform under those conditions “super human.” He applauded Doncic for feeling the emotions of the night and still going on the court and giving the fans a show while helping his team win a must-win game.
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