Grading Luka Doncic's first road game against the Dallas Mavericks since Lakers trade

Richard Jefferson described Luka Doncic's return to Dallas perfectly on the broadcast tonight. Daddy was indeed home. That was the feeling in the building and for everyone watching back home.

Doncic had to endure a lot of emotions before the game even started tonight. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar watched a tribute video that brought him to tears in the pregame. A very touching message from an organization that discarded him in the most lopsided trade of recent memory.

There was no ill will from the Dallas faithful either. They cheered and applauded Doncic upon arrival. Although, if one were to ask Austin Reaves, those were for him.

With chants of 'fire Nico' filling the building, Luka was ready to show off some magic. This performance certainly delivered all that and more.

Doncic delivers in the Big D

The first matchup that Doncic had against the Mavericks was on Feb. 25. That one was in the comforts of his new home, Crypto.com Arena. The stage here was always going to be massively different. The result, however, was the same.

The Slovenian superstar did a fantastic job settling in from an emotional leadup to tipoff and heating up quickly. Doncic had 31 points at halftime. The Lakers needed every bit of that performance too.

The Mavericks were doing a good job keeping pace in the first half. Los Angeles got ahead and put themselves in the driver's seat, but the game continued to be very competitive, with the Lakers only leading it 60-57 going into the break.

In the second half, Dallas' defense was much more aggressive guarding Doncic. They blitzed him to get the ball out of his hands during multiple instances following the intermission. That quieted Luka's scoring effort a bit. However, it started opening the game up for his teammates.

Do not be mistaken though, Doncic kept scoring. The Lakers superstar finished the game with 45 points, shooting 16-of-28 from the field and 7-of-10 from beyond the arc. The five-time All-NBA member also added eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals.

The Lakers pulled ahead in the second half, securing a 112-97 victory in Luka's return to Dallas and improving to 2-0 in the head-to-head since the blockbuster deal. This was pretty much as good of a game as Doncic could have asked for.

The generational superstar contributed heavily to his team's performance, continuing to fuel the crowd that was ready to support him from the start. As far as legendary performances and career highlight reel moments go, this undoubtedly fit the bill. All eyes were on Luka, and Doncic delivered.

Bonus: with the win, the Lakers have officially locked up a spot in the top six of the Western Conference for the 2025 NBA Playoffs. There will be no Play-In Tournament for JJ Redick's crew.