They look at the game differently, they look at life differently, the guys that I’ve gotten to know from that from that region of the world are different and I think that was what was not considered as fully as it should have been.
Source: YouTube

Melissa Rohlin @melissarohlin
Jason Kidd on what he thinks Wednesdays game between the Mavs and Lakers will be like. “Just another home game,” he said before adding that it should be “electric” with Mavericks fans excited to see Luka Doncic. – 1:24 AM

Eddie Sefko @ESefko
Mavericks down 114-84 early in the fourth quarter. A lost weekend in LA will leave them with plenty of talking points heading into Wednesday’s game against Luka Doncic, LeBron James and the Lakers at AAC. – 12:31 AM

Dave McMenamin @mcten
And then there were five: LAL picked up win No. 47 in Game No. 77, beating NOLA 124-108. Luka 35p 6r 6a; AR 30p 7a 4r; LeBron 27p 8a 2s; Knecht 12p; Hayes 6p 12r 2b. The Lakers head on the road for a two-game set with OKC on Sun/Tues followed by Luka’s Dallas return Weds – 12:56 AM

Khobi Price @khobi_price
Final: Lakers 124, Pelicans 108.
LAL (47-30) moves back to the No. 3 spot in the West standings with this victory and GSW’s win over DEN.
Luka Doncic: 35 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds. Austin Reaves: 30 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds. LeBron James: 27 points, 8 assists. – 12:56 AM

Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
Luka Doncic started the game cold, missing all 7 of his shots in the 1st Q, but he heated up quickly, and is now 10 for 21 with 4 made triples towards 35 points.
He was 3 for 12 in the first half, but is now 7 for 9 in the 2nd half after an and-1 put LA up 122-105. – 12:52 AM

Khobi Price @khobi_price
Halftime: Lakers 62, Pelicans 53.
LeBron James: 13 points (4-7), 5 assists. Luka Doncic: 13 points (3-12), 3 assists. Austin Reaves: 11 points (3-6), 3 assists. – 11:44 PM

Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Watch Stephen Curry drop 37 on Lakers in Warriors win in potential first-round playoff preview
The key for the Warriors? They were +8 when Curry was off the floor in a game Golden State won by 7. Also, it was not Luka Doncic’s night.
nbcsports.com/nba/news/watch… – 7:48 AM

Khobi Price @khobi_price
Luka Doncic’s left arm was heavily wrapped tonight after the hard hall against Houston.
Doncic shot 6-17 tonight, including missing all six 3PAs.
When asked about the arm, Doncic said: “That’s my left [arm], so it’s fine. I was shooting with the right. It looked liked left.” – 1:52 AM

Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
Asked Luka Doncic about the tough Lakers stretch on offense that Redick cited, and he took it on himself: “That performance from me is unacceptable, (it) makes it hard for the team to win.”
Doncic finished 6 for 17 for 19 points with 8 boards and 7 assists. – 1:25 AM

Nate Duncan @NateDuncanNBA
Luka has some work to do to match the level of these Steph/Dray/LeBron matchups from an execution and intensity standpoint. Jimmy, on the other hand, fits right in. – 1:22 AM

Dave McMenamin @mcten
Luka Doncic after going 6-for-17 during the loss to the Warriors: “That performance by me is unacceptable” – 1:19 AM

Dave McMenamin @mcten
The Lakers cut a once 16-point GSW lead down to 5 in the 4th Q but couldn’t get over the hump and lose to GSW, 123-116. LeBron 33p 9a 5r; Reaves 31p 6r; Rui 24p 6r; Luka 19p on 6-of-17 8r 7a. Dubs bench outscored Lakers subs 26-7. Lakers host Hornets tomorrow in b2b. – 12:43 AM

Khobi Price @khobi_price
Final: Warriors 123, Lakers 116.
LAL falls to 46-30 with the loss, dropping back down to No. 4 after being No. 3 for 24 hours.
GSW (45-31) is one GB LAL.
LeBron James: 33p/9a/5r. Austin Reaves: 31p/6r/3a. Rui Hachimura: 24p/6r/3a. Luka Doncic: 19p/8r/7a. – 12:41 AM

Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
LA looked to have pulled within 10 at the half on a Doncic layup with 2.6 seconds left, but in a play harkening back to last week in Chicago, Podziemski banked in a 3 from midcourt at the buzzer to make it 60-47.
Podziemski hit 6 of 7 3’s towards 22 points. – 11:15 PM

Dave McMenamin @mcten
Podziemski beats the halftime buzzer to give him 22 pts on 8-for-11 shooting at the break. The Warriors are up 60-47. Meanwhile, LeBron, Luka and AR a combined 8-for-23. – 11:13 PM

Chris Mannix @SIChrisMannix
Quinten Post has gone at both LeBron James and Luka Doncic during this half. Before this last timeout, LeBron seemed to ask Draymond why Post keeps talking. Draymond responded by clapping and dapping Post up. – 10:51 PM

Mark Cuban: You’ve got to understand what people are like, what their backgrounds are like, who they are personally, what their families are like, how they interact with other people, and from that part of the world in my experiences Luka was just, other than the basketball talent, he was just like every other guy. And I think that was one of the reasons, he loves to play with the Slovenian team, he relates so well to all the other players from that part of the world, and over the summers that’s who he’s hanging out with, that’s who he is. So I don’t think that we truly took the time to understand that, and that really led to this decision. And that really underpinned this decision, that lack of attention to that issue and I think that’s here we are now. -via YouTube / April 6, 2025

The Lakers weren’t perfect the rest of the way in a 124-108 win in their penultimate home game of the regular season, but they certainly weren’t smothered in the dark cloud that covered Doncic for much of the previous two games. And as they worked their way through his slump, the Lakers did the kind of things they’ll certainly need in bulk as they prepare for back-to-back games against the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder. “Just trying to be like me,” Doncic said. “Just play the game, forget about everything.” -via Los Angeles Times / April 5, 2025