Luka Doncic soars as the Los Angeles Lakers down the Dallas Mavericks

LOS ANGELES – Luka Doncic scored 33 points as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated his former Mavericks side 116-110 on Jan 24, in another triumphant return to Dallas for the Slovenian superstar.

Doncic – who earned cheers as he stepped onto the Texas court where he was beloved by fans for seven successful years – also grabbed eight rebounds and handed out 11 assists.

It was his second return to his former home since he was traded away in a hugely controversial February 2025 deal, and he is now 4-0 in all meetings against Dallas in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The latest win snapped the Mavericks’ season-best streak of four straight victories – form that contrasts with the Lakers, who had lost six of their previous nine outings.

Doncic said the American Airlines Center is “always a special place for me”, joking that at half-time he had begun “going to the other tunnel... I was kind of confused”.

The game opened with veteran superstar LeBron James scoring at one end and 2025 draft first overall pick Cooper Flagg – 22 years his junior – responding immediately at the other.

Early in the game, Doncic, 26, became the youngest player in NBA history to score his 1,500th career three-pointer.

The Lakers led 65-52 at half-time, and threatened to pull clear with a 13-point gap, before Dallas scored 16 without reply.

The game swung wildly as the Mavericks extended a 15-point lead in fourth quarter, before yet another Lakers surge.

James closed the lead to nine with a steal, a sprint up-court and thumping slam dunk.

A Rui Hachimura three-pointer put the Lakers back in front with just over two minutes remaining.

Lakers coach JJ Redick hailed Doncic’s defence, often seen as a shortcoming of his game, telling ESPN: “We counted after the game, he had six straight stops where they targeted him. Just a fantastic job from him.

“Then (he) makes the game-sealing defensive play with the charge on (Naji) Marshall.”

Elsewhere on Jan 24, the New York Knicks edged a contentious clash with the Philadelphia 76ers 112-109, as Jalen Brunson poured in 31 points to help get his team’s season back on track.

The Knicks will hope they have turned a corner with back-to-back wins, after a 54-point blowout victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Jan 21 ended a slump that saw them drop nine of 11 games.

New York clung to a three-point lead in the final 10 seconds as the Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey missed a three-pointer under pressure before OG Anunoby stole the ball from Joel Embiid.

On both occasions, Philadelphia’s claims of an intentional foul were rejected by officials.

“Composure... we don’t make it easy on ourselves, but I liked the way we fought,” said All-Star point guard Brunson, when asked how his team survived the tense final moments.

“Obviously, we had a slump and worked our way through it. It happened, and now we just got to keep on climbing.”

Embiid – the game’s top scorer with 38 points – told reporters that he and Maxey had been “fouled for sure”.

The centre also finished with 11 rebounds and five assists.

Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors’ visit to the Minnesota Timberwolves was suspended until Jan 25, after federal immigration agents shot dead a man in Minneapolis, sparking fresh protests. AFP