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Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Luka Doncic stared down the Dallas Mavericks bench, looking at several former teammates, epitomizing an emotional matchup while leading the Los Angeles Lakers to victory with his first triple-double for the franchise. Doncic totaled 19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists in the 107-99 victory Tuesday in Los Angeles. Lakers forward LeBron James chipped in 27 points and 12 rebounds. Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 35.
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"It was so weird, the moments, I felt like I didn't know what I was doing," Doncic told reporters. "I'm glad we got a win."
Doncic, who logged 80 triple-doubles over his first six-and-a-half seasons with the Mavericks, scored 12 points in the first half. He made 6 of 17 shot attempts overall.
One of the most emotion-fueled moments of the game came when Doncic hit his lone 3-pointer with about six minutes remaining in the first quarter. Forward Dorian Finney-Smith tracked down a loose ball on the play. He threw a pass to Doncic just before he could fall out of bounds. Doncic caught the bounce pass, squared up and hit the deep shot for a 19-14 Lakers lead.
He then turned and looked at the Mavericks bench, shouting toward the area in celebration of the shot.
"It was a lot of emotions, obviously," Doncic said. "I can't even explain it. It was a different game. ... Sometimes I didn't know what I was doing. I'm just glad it's over, honestly."
Tuesday's game featured just two lead changes and was tied three times. The Lakers outscored the Mavericks 52-34 in the paint and 20-13 off fast breaks.
They led by as many as 16 points.
James scored 16 points in the fourth quarter to help the Lakers secure their third consecutive victory.
The Lakers (35-21) will host the Minnesota Timberwolves (32-27) at 10:30 p.m. EST Thursday in Los Angeles. The Mavericks (31-28) will host the Charlotte Hornets (14-43) at 8:30 p.m. Thursday in Dallas.
