1 week Ago By Rory Robinson
Anthony Davis had to know that being the return piece in a blockbuster trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers would result in a fan base that misses their five-time All-NBA guard, and plans to be vocal about it. The three-time NBA blocks leader chose to ignore just how loud Dallas fans were as the boos rained down at American Airlines Center with "Fire Nico!" toward Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison. Davis said, "No comment, I'm not talking about that," after the Lakers ' 112-97 win over the Mavs , where he posted just 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting, missed both of his three-point attempts, and committed four turnovers.
While the boos in the arena weren't for his performance, he still heard them, like several other players on the team. Mavs center Daniel Gafford said that the chants, which even filled the area during the home team's free throw attempts, made things "tough." But Dereck Lively II had an opposing feeling and said, "No matter what we hearing.
No matter what the outside noise is we're hearing, we lean on each other." Doncic returned to Dallas in a Lakers jersey for the first time since the trade and dropped 45 points, sank seven three-pointers, grabbed eight rebounds, dished six assists, and stole the ball four times in a statement performance that locked the Lakers into a guaranteed playoff spot. When he exited the game, Mavericks fans gave Doncic one final standing ovation, and then continued their message to the organization with the "Fire Nico!" chants picked right back up.
The new Lakers guard was emotional before the game and was so wound up by his return that he said he could "barely play," beforehand, but his performance said otherwise. His dominance was a visual reminder to the Dallas front office of what they gave up while Davis continued trending downward average-wise since the trade, averaging 19.6 points and 9.
8 rebounds in eight games with the Mavericks, and down from 25.7 and 11.9 in LA.
Harrion's decision to ship Doncic continues to sit under a harsh microscope, with LA sitting at 49-31 and locked into a playoff spot, and Dallas is hanging by a thread. At 43-37, the Mavs clinched the 10th seed and will face the ninth-seeded Kings in the NBA Play-In Tournament. Sacramento swept the regular-season series against Dallas, winning all three games by an average of over 12 points.
Doncic and the Lakers will finish the season with two West Coast matchups against the No. 2 Houston Rockets on Friday, followed by Sunday's game against the already-eliminated Portland Trail Blazers . LA and Houston split their wins during the regular season and will aim to head into the playoffs with an advantage over the competition.
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