Luka Doncic admits that he almost went to the Mavericks locker room in latest matchup
Old habits are notoriously difficult to break, especially when those habits were formed over seven seasons of franchise-altering basketball. On Saturday night, Luka Doncic returned to the American Airlines Center, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a gritty 116-110 victory over his former team. While his performance was as sharp as ever, his internal navigation system apparently hasn't fully updated to his new reality in purple and gold.
Speaking to the "Inside the NBA" crew following the win, the Slovenian superstar admitted that the halftime buzzer triggered a muscle memory from his days as the face of the Dallas Mavericks. When asked by Kenny Smith about navigating the arena as a visitor, Doncic confessed that he nearly headed for the home sanctuary. "I remember the first time I was here, I wanted to go into the locker room; I forgot it was all the way down there — the visiting," Doncic said with a smile. "And I think today, at halftime, I was going to the other tunnel, so I was kind of confused."
The moment offered a lighthearted footnote to a contest that was intense on the hardwood. The Lakers had to rally from a 15-point deficit, with Doncic orchestrating a fourth-quarter surge that silenced the very fans who had greeted him with a thunderous ovation during pre-game introductions. He finished the night with a commanding stat line of 33 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds, keeping Los Angeles unbeaten against Dallas since the seismic trade that sent him West.
It has been nearly a year since the blockbuster February 2025 deal that swapped Doncic for a package centered around Anthony Davis, a move that fundamentally reshaped the Western Conference. Despite the time passed, the emotional tether to Dallas remains evident. Doncic reiterated that the arena remains a "special place" for him, even if he is now the architect of the Mavericks' demise. For the Lakers, a little halftime confusion is a small price to pay for the MVP-caliber dominance Doncic has brought to Los Angeles, proving that while he may momentarily forget which tunnel to take, he never forgets how to close out a game.
Speaking to the "Inside the NBA" crew following the win, the Slovenian superstar admitted that the halftime buzzer triggered a muscle memory from his days as the face of the Dallas Mavericks. When asked by Kenny Smith about navigating the arena as a visitor, Doncic confessed that he nearly headed for the home sanctuary. "I remember the first time I was here, I wanted to go into the locker room; I forgot it was all the way down there — the visiting," Doncic said with a smile. "And I think today, at halftime, I was going to the other tunnel, so I was kind of confused."
The moment offered a lighthearted footnote to a contest that was intense on the hardwood. The Lakers had to rally from a 15-point deficit, with Doncic orchestrating a fourth-quarter surge that silenced the very fans who had greeted him with a thunderous ovation during pre-game introductions. He finished the night with a commanding stat line of 33 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds, keeping Los Angeles unbeaten against Dallas since the seismic trade that sent him West.
It has been nearly a year since the blockbuster February 2025 deal that swapped Doncic for a package centered around Anthony Davis, a move that fundamentally reshaped the Western Conference. Despite the time passed, the emotional tether to Dallas remains evident. Doncic reiterated that the arena remains a "special place" for him, even if he is now the architect of the Mavericks' demise. For the Lakers, a little halftime confusion is a small price to pay for the MVP-caliber dominance Doncic has brought to Los Angeles, proving that while he may momentarily forget which tunnel to take, he never forgets how to close out a game.
