Doncic generated tons of love and appreciation from the Mavs fans in his return to Dallas.
Regardless of what happened nearly a year ago already, Luka Doncic will always have no love lost for the city of Dallas and the Mavericks fanbase.
Luka Doncic
Luka Doncic
Luka Doncic
MIN: 36.37
PTS: 33.43 (57.26%)
REB: 7.8
AS: 8.66
ST: 1.6
BL: 0.51
TO: 4.31
GM: 35
In his postgame presser after he and the Los Angeles Lakers prevailed with a 116-110 victory over the Mavericks, Doncic expressed his utmost appreciation of being back in his old stomping ground and the strongly positive reception he received from the Mavs crowd.
"I was happy to be back here," he said. "I went to my house, saw my cars. But you know, obviously, it's always going to be emotional. I really appreciate how they cheered for me when I was introduced.
"It's always going to be a special place for me."
Saturday evening marked the second appearance of Doncic in the American Airlines Center since his last season's stunning trade departure.
Despite the fact that Doncic is wearing purple and gold and the chilling weather across the area, these didn't stop Mavs fans from attending the game to show their support. When the Slovenian star was introduced, roaring cheers erupted in the arena. And as Doncic went to the line to shoot his free throws, chants of MVP broke out.
As such, Doncic put on a show with 33 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds to lead the Lakers' win.
"I mean, I was here seven years, spent a lot of things happened, bad and good," he said. "When I went to Madrid at 13, every time I went back to Slovenia, I kind of felt good. So that’s why it was always going to be a special place for me."
On the Mavs fans' attendance: "That was really special. I didn’t know what to expect before because I know how the city gets when the weather is this bad, but I really appreciate a lot of people showing up."
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