Lakers Beat Mavericks Behind Luka Triple-Double | HOOPS Daily, 2/26/2025
Luka records his first triple-double as a Laker to beat his old team, Diana Taurasi announces her retirement, and more.
The Tip-Off: There Are (Now) 3 Players in NBA History to Record a Triple-Double vs. All 30 Teams
1. Russell Westbrook
2. LeBron James
3. Luka Doncic
Key Performances
Jimmy Butler (6pts/8r/5a) - W vs Hornets
While this may look more like a typical Draymond Green stat-line, the Warriors didn’t need Jimmy Buckets to do too much for them tonight as they easily handled the struggling Hornets, handing them another blowout loss. The win is the Warriors’ 3,000th in franchise history and moves their record to 6-1 since trading for Butler and signing him to a two-year extension at the deadline.
Ja Morant (29pts/8a/4r/2stl) - W vs Suns
Memphis vs. Phoenix was the type of game that’s so good you hate to know that one team is going to lose. With a combined 299pts put up, the Grizzlies outlasted the Suns as they fell back on their trusted fourth quarter mantra: “Call 12.” Ja didn’t disappoint as he scored the last 11pts to tie it up and force OT. He also added another incredible dunk to his ever-growing highlight reel:
“My nose was bleeding. My WiFi went out. They told me I had to wait 15 minutes. I tried to come down as soon as possible.” - Ja Morant on his above the rim dunk in the third
Alperen Sengun (23pts/11r/3a/3blk) W vs Bucks
The hype may have been in LA Tuesday night but if you missed this one, you definitely missed a great game. This was testy all night, boiling over in an Amen Thompson ejection following a hard foul on Giannis Antetokounmpo but the Rockets were able to withstand the Bucks’ relentless attack, holding on for a huge win for them. They’ve been uneven lately, having difficulties scoring and building on leads even as they put teams in hell defensively but there’s something about running the offense through Sengun that opens the floor up for everyone. Last season things coalesced for Houston when Sengun went out Jalen Green could take the lead but this season, they need to continue working together and letting Sengun set the table down the stretch is an easier way for them to exploit offensive mis-matches and get easy buckets.
Jayson Tatum (19pts/11a/6r) - W vs Raptors
“That guy is the best player on the best team in the NBA and I don’t think that he gets enough credit for what he does on both ends of the floor… Amazing player. I’m a really, really big fan of his.” - Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic
Tatum had nine of his 11 assists in the first half and Boston was able to extend their win streak to six games while avenging a mid-January loss to Toronto last time the teams met. I think I’ve hammered a bit too much on Tatum being a superstar player and this notion that he’s not for some reason but it seems like every day some other person in the league is coming out saying something about it so who am I to not bolster my own thoughts whenever I can? Really though, this Celtics team looks a lot more like the one that started the season and that’s gotta be a scary sight for teams in the East that are going to be jockeying for position as the season winds down.
Ty Jerome (20pts/2r/2a) - W vs Magic
The Cavaliers blew out the Magic by 40pts to win their eighth-straight game but it was the manner in which they did it that is truly impressive. No one played over 28 minutes, all 14 Cavs players that dressed for this game scored, and Ty Jerome was their leading scorer with 20pts off the bench. Ty Ballgame has been one of the best backups in the league this season, finding a home in Cleveland with his shotmaking ability, his playmaking capabilities, and his tenacity every time he hits the court. If Payton Pritchard wasn’t having the season he’s been having, I think Jerome would be right there in 6MOY conversations.
Lakers Beat Mavericks Behind Luka Triple-Double
The night’s marquee matchup saw the Dallas Mavericks head into LA to take on Luka Doncic and the Lakers in what was guaranteed to be a highly emotional evening. I mean you had coverage outside of Staples Center1 hours before the game was set to start like it was a season opener or a playoff series.
Plus, there was endless coverage of Luka’s warmups and the reactions of all the Mavericks’ players and personnel on the court at the same time:
The game itself didn’t disappoint either with Luka, LeBron, Kyrie Irving2, and Klay Thompson all coming up big throughout the night.
Really though, the night was a highly emotional one for Luka and for his former teammates. He clearly has love for them and high-fived all of them after the game as well as assistants and trainers but didn’t interact at all with head coach Jason Kidd or Mavs’ GM Nico Harrison. Instead, we got a lot of interesting shots and footage throughout the night of their subtle interactions like this3 as well as Lakers fans taking the time to thank Nico for making such a deal.
After the game, Luka spoke on the emotions of the night, seeing his old teammates, and the relief he felt now that this game had passed:
It wasn’t just about Luka vs. the Mavs though as the Lakers paid tribute to a returning Anthony Davis, though he didn’t play, that didn’t stop the team from putting together a touching tribute and the fans showering him with love in what was a very nice moment:
Also, I need to mention Kyrie Irving here because in all of the hype and media throughout the day, it was this picture of a quiet moment as Irving sat at the Kobe and Gigi statue that really hit me more than I expected it to.
I know how important Kobe was to him and how close they were and there’s just something beautiful in this moment that makes me tear up every time I stop and look at it.
A Jordan Brand Marketing Masterclass
I need to take a second to applaud the incredible marketing display put on by Jordan Brand all day long ahead of Mavs/Lakers as well.
First, they dropped this commercial Tuesday morning:
Then, they parked the custom Koenigsegg Regera from the ad out front of the arena:
Next, they announced that Luka and Jordan Brand were providing free parking:4
They also gave out these “New Team Scent” air fresheners to fans in attendance
Oh and to top all of that of, Luka debuted the Luka 4, his latest signature sneaker:
I hope that entire marketing team gets the biggest bonus. What a job.
Diana Taurasi Announces Her Retirement
Arguably the greatest woman to ever lace them up has decided to call it a career as Diana Taurasi announced her retirement via an interview with Time Magazine.
In the interview, which is fantastic, Taurasi touches on New Year’s Day 2025 being the moment she knew she wasn’t going to be coming back for a 21st season in the WNBA:
“I just didn’t have it in me. That was pretty much when I knew it was time to walk away… Mentally and physically, I’m just full. That’s probably the best way I can describe it. I’m full and I’m happy.”
- Diana Taurasi on retiring from the WNBA after 20 seasons
I don’t know if there’s enough space here to list all of her accomplishments throughout her highly decorated and incredible career but here are some:
• 20 years in WNBA (all with Phoenix Mercury)
• 11x WNBA All-Star
• 3x WNBA Champion
• 2x WNBA Finals MVP
• 10x All-WNBA First Team
• 6x Olympic Gold Medalist
• 5x WNBA Scoring Champion
I do also feel compelled to share my favorite Diana Taurasi story and it’s her incredible roast of Draymond Green during the 2016 Olympics:
Truly though, she is a pillar of women’s basketball and the WNBA and whatever she decides to do next whether it’s media or something else, I can only imagine she’ll be just as successful.
At the Buzzer
- Heat’s Nikola Jovic out at least 4 weeks with broken hand
- Report: Nico Harrison would’ve tried to trade Luka this summer if Lakers deal had fallen through
- Pelicans converting Brandon Boston Jr’s two-way contract to two-year deal
- Russell Westbrook’s Why Not Foundation expands key partnership into Denver
Watching Tonight
Celtics at Pistons
Thunder at Nets
Thank you guys for spending another day reading today’s newsletter. Whether you read the whole thing, skim it, check every morning, or it’s your first time here I truly cannot thank you enough for your time, energy, and attention. I sincerely appreciate all of it and I hope you found at least one thing you enjoyed or found interesting. More importantly, I hope everyone reading this is doing well and having a good week doing the things you love to do. Take care.
It’s Staples Center forever for me unless Crypto.com is ready to sponsor the newsletter
I need to say: Kyrie shaved his beard and looks exactly like 2012-era Kyrie and he immediately came out hitting crazy shot after crazy shot like he’d teleported back in time.
I’m not 100% sure that this isn’t AI to be completely honest but it goes so hard.
(via Basketball Forever)
This is huge. Do you know how unnecessarily expensive parking in LA is?!