Luka Doncic walked toward the wrong locker room at halftime before a quick U-turn by the Lakers star in his second trip to Dallas since the shocking trade that sent him to Los Angeles almost a year ago.
Hey, at least he wasn't weeping on the bench before the game against the Mavericks, or still trying to process the emotions and everything that was new in the wake of a deal that stunned everybody in pro sports, not just the NBA.
A big fourth-quarter rally by the Lakers in a 116-110 victory over Dallas on Saturday night was a nice bonus for Doncic, who took another step toward the rest of his career with a visit to his first NBA city that wasn't nearly as emotional as his return last April.
"There’s still emotions, trust me,” the NBA's scoring leader said after going for 33 points and 11 assists and beating Dallas for the fourth time in four tries. "But a little bit better, a little bit easier for me. It’s unbelievable. I’ve still got a lot of fans here, players, some other people. I’m happy to be back.”
Doncic has tried to be clear that he's moving on after he wept on the LA bench during a video tribute when he was introduced before the game in Dallas last April. Maybe Mavericks fans are getting there as well.
The game lacked "Nico Fired” chants - the ones fans used briefly after general manager Nico Harrison was let go by Dallas in November following a slow start. The move also came amid lingering resentment for a trade that is now easily viewed as a setback for a franchise that reached the NBA Finals just nine months before a 25-year-old star in his prime was shipped away in the middle of the night.
The centerpiece for Dallas in the deal was Anthony Davis, the oft-injured big man who has missed more games than he's played since joining the Mavericks and won't return from his latest absence - a hand injury - until next month.
When Doncic visited the first time, the Dallas crowd on that night and many others was prone to launching into "Fire Nico” chants, which were still happening early this season.
For the Slovenian star's second visit, the most noticeable chants were a couple of "M-V-P” renditions when he was shooting free throws (he made 14 of 15).
"The significance of this probably will be there for the rest of his career,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said before the game. "This is where it started for him. It’s where he made his first Finals appearance. It’s where he was drafted. The significance for our team is there, and it’s certainly there for him.”
LeBron James and Rui Hachimura were the biggest catalysts for the rally from 15 points down in the final 7 minutes.
James scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter after at one point having a minus-28 rating with a point total in the single digits. Hachimura had a four-point play and another 3-pointer on consecutive possessions, the latter putting LA up for good.
Doncic did his share as well. His driving layup gave the Lakers a 116-108 lead with 50 seconds to go, and he turned to his old bench as if to say that was about it. Or maybe not.
"I heard the bench said something about a travel," said Doncic, who still found time for playful moments during and after the game with his former teammates. "There was no travel. Two steps. I just looked over there.”
All the free throws made it a quiet scoring night for Doncic, but the shouts of his name from kids near the court were loud enough. He was a pedestrian 3 of 8 from 3-point range, but the 26-year-old did become the youngest to reach 1,500 long-range buckets. He's at 1,501.
"I think the biggest thing this year, he’s just more comfortable,” James said. "Understanding the system, understanding the city, the city embracing him. Understanding it’s his team, and we’re all rallying around him. Obviously we know it’s emotional, a big game, to come back and play your former team. He showed who he is tonight.”
Maybe the next visit - not long before the end of the regular season in April, when the Lakers likely are on their way to the playoffs and Dallas is likely headed home for the summer - will be even a little bit easier.
"This is one year, and next year it'll be two years and after that it'll be three and we'll just keep counting,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. "Luka's moved on. And we've moved on.”
