First, the fans of the Dallas Mavericks celebrated the return of Luka Doncic, then the NBA superstar led his Los Angeles Lakers to victory with a strong performance in their old hometown. With 33 points, the Slovenian was the best scorer of the evening at 116:110, Doncic took his fourth win in the fourth duel with the Mavs since his involuntary departure.
Doncic, whom Dallas surprisingly traded to the Lakers a year ago, was greeted with applause at the American Airlines Center. The arena is “always a special place” for him, said the 26-year-old and joked that he had taken the wrong hallway at half-time. “I was a little confused.”
LeBron James and Rui Hachimura each had 17 points for LA, and the Mavericks’ top scorer was Max Christie (24). Maximilian Kleber was not used. The Lakers (27:17) are fifth in the West after their third win in four games, Dallas (19:27) is only twelfth. Before the bankruptcy, the Texans had celebrated four successes in a row.
Franz Wagner can’t help Orlando again
The third defeat in a row was suffered by the Orlando Magic, who once again had to make do without world and European champion Franz Wagner (ankle problems) in the 105:119 home defeat against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Moritz Wagner recorded 13 points and six rebounds, Tristan da Silva failed to make a basket in just over 20 minutes of action. Paolo Banchero was the best thrower for the hosts from Florida (27).
In Chicago, the Bulls beat the Boston Celtics 114:111 in the last second, after which the club pulled a banner with the number of its former star player Derrick Rose under the ceiling. The “1” will no longer be awarded by the franchise in the future; previously this honor in the Windy City was only given to Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Jerry Sloan and Bob Love.
The game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors was postponed until Sunday after federal immigration agents shot and killed a man in Minneapolis, sparking new protests.
