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This is why you never trade Luka Doncic away. Look at this play right here, Luka is one of the handful of guys who attracts this kind of attention in the NBA, and now the Lakers have two of them. First possession of the game, it’s LeBron who penetrates inside and lobs it to Jaxson Hayes. 20 seconds later, Doncic gets his first touch in an LA uniform and…
The crowd explodes in the first minute of the game, it’s on! But before we dive deeper into his performance, let’s rewind to the pre-game hype that was completely off the charts.
From the Gatorade commercial with the double LL’s turned into 77 on the Hollywood sign, to the Lakers playing some Serbian hits, Luka’s favorite music for shootarounds.
And for everyone in attendance, a surprise t-shirt of their newest star was awaiting on the seats. Even LeBron was grooving in it.
So when time came for the introductions, James let Doncic have his welcome moment as the last one announced.
The star studded crowd included Dirk Nowitzki, who flew over from Dallas just to support his student. And it wasn’t long before Luka knocked down one of his signature step back 3’s.
The Lakers took control of the game early with LeBron leading the way and showing Luka how it’s done here. So, Doncic had to follow that up.
He scored 14 points in limited playing time during his debut, forcing oohs and aahs from the home crowd almost every time he touched the ball.
And the highlight of the night came late in the 2nd quarter when…
Usually Bron’s the one throwing these dimes, but now with another high IQ player on the team, James can get down the court faster and also free himself in the halfcourt for a back-door cut, knowing that Luka will certainly find him if he’s open.
Talking about Bron, look at him chilling on the wing while Doncic takes Kessler for a dance, this is new to him, but as he stated it’s Luka’s time now and he’ll somehow find his way around the floor. Doncic had a poor shooting night though, going 5 of 14 from the field after a seven week absence since he got hurt on Christmas. The team is expected to have one of their superstars on the floor at all times when Doncic is up to his normal form.
Let’s not forget Austin Reaves, who circles the Lakers trio of creators.
The role players on this team will be highly elevated in this process. All they need to do is catch the ball and convert. Pay attention to Jaxson Hayes in these couple of months, he’s turning into Gafford no. 2 for sure.
LA had seven players scoring in double figures, as they shot a blistering 54% from the floor and had a lead as big as 34 points. But it's the Jazz, and I’m not going to emphasize anything, only the signs are showing me that Luka is going to have a smooth lake sailing from here onwards.
The Lakers are on a roll, winning 12 of their last 14 games with another meeting in Utah coming up tomorrow night. After the All-Star break they have another pair of easy games as well, and this game against the Nuggets could easily propel them into the 3rd spot in the wild western conference.
Speaking of wild, we had an absolute thriller in Dallas last night, with Demar Derozan having himself a ball game against the Mavs.
Mr. 4th quarter, connects on 3 straight possessions, bringing the Kings to just 1 point deficit. Sacramento even had a chance to take the lead with less than 40 seconds to go, but Kyrie intercepted Monk’s pass and showed his incredible shot making abilities in the clutch.
So, with the game on the line you know who’s got the ball.
Woow, Deebo made it scoring over a great defender like Max Christie look so easy.
However, with 3 seconds still on the clock Irving can spoil everything.
Malik Monk stays glued to Ky and blocks his game winning attempt, so we go to overtime.
In the extra 5 minutes, with Derozan struggling to get an open look, Malik Monk took over the scoring load. Monk was huge for Sacramento, making hustle plays and converting on a couple of 2nd chance opportunities. Who’s gonna step up for the Mavs?
Kyrie misses the go ahead 3, and now the Kings can go for the dagger.
Demar makes both clutch free throws, creating a 2 possession lead, but Irving responds with a quick bucket. Now you just have to wait it out and stay calm on the foul line, but Derozan decides to attack the basket and misses the reverse layup, awarding the Mavs a shot for the win with 12 seconds remaining. And then, an explosion in the arena.
Captain Klay swishes what everyone thought would be the game winning 3, only thing is…
Oh my goodness, Demar freezes both defenders here before draining the floater to shock the home crowd. And with no timeouts left, Dinwiddie commits an offensive foul at the end cementing their loss. For the disappointment to be bigger, the Mavs lost Daniel Gafford in the 2nd quarter after he hurt his knee while setting a screen.. It must be heartbreaking for Dallas fans right now…