Luka drops 45 in return to Dallas as Lakers clinch playoff spot

Luka Doncic put on a show in his emotional return to Dallas on Wednesday.

The Slovenian recorded a season-high-tying 45 points to go along with six assists, eight rebounds, and four steals as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-97 and clinched a top-six seed in the West.

The Mavericks honored Doncic with a tribute video as the starting lineups were announced.

“So many emotions. I can’t even explain it. Brought tears to my eyes. … Just a lot of great, great memories,” Doncic said, per Ryan Ward of Lakers Nation.

Doncic came out of the gate firing and poured in 31 points in the first half. He joined Kobe Bryant (six times) and LeBron James (once) as the only Lakers to score 30-plus points and hit five-plus 3-pointers in a single half.

“I don’t know how I did it because when I was watching that video I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m playing in this game.’ But all my teammates had my back. They were really supporting me, so I really appreciate that,” Doncic said, courtesy of Ward.

Doncic was serenaded with “Luka” chants as he checked out of the game with 1:34 left in the contest, per Athlon Sports’ Grant Afseth.

Lakers head coach JJ Redick joked postgame that he was “disappointed” Doncic didn’t score 50, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

This was Doncic’s third 45-point game of the campaign and his second since being shipped to Los Angeles.

James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for second all-time in regular-season games played with 1,561. The 40-year-old scored 27 points on 11-of-20 shooting.

Naji Marshall led Dallas with 23 points. Anthony Davis recorded a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double against his former club.

The Mavs fell to 38-48 with the loss but clinched a play-in spot due to the Phoenix Suns’ defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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