Mavs’ Luka Dončić Outlasts Lakers’ LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Wows NBA Fans in Win

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The Dallas Mavericks were on the second half of a back-to-back on Tuesday night, facing the In-Season Tournament champions and were without Kyrie Irving due to a right heel contusion.

That might have been daunting for most players. But not Luka Dončić—he had it covered.

The Slovenian superstar out-dueled LeBron James and Anthony Davis, putting up 33 points, 17 assists and six rebounds in a 127-125 thriller over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Luka was the headliner, though he certainly had plenty of help, as Tim Hardaway Jr. (32 points off the bench), Dante Exum (26 points, 7-of-9 from three) and Grant Williams (19 points) all had fantastic games. But who do you think got them so many clean looks?

It was Dončić. It almost always is. And NBA fans and pundits alike admired the domination:

Oh and by the way, Dončić was questionable coming into Tuesday with a lower back contusion. But it didn’t matter. Not even a little bit.

His primo performance spoiled huge nights from James—who almost had a triple-double with 33 points, nine assists, eight rebounds—and Davis (37 points, 11 boards).

It was a testament to Luka’s ability to make everyone around him better, and a reminder of how scary it must be for opposing teams when he’s surrounded by shooting. The Mavericks shot a blistering 21-of-43 from beyond the arc on Tuesday, a cool 48.8 percent.

And the Lakers actually were even more efficient from deep, shooting 51.6 percent from three (15-of-29). But Luka’s ability to consistently collapse the L.A. defense and create wide open jumpers for his teammates was ultimately the difference.

The win moved the Mavericks to 14-8 on the season, while the Lakers dropped to 14-9. Call it another résumé-builder for Dončić’s mounting MVP case.