The Dallas Mavericks hosted the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, with the Lakers coming away with a 112-97 win. It was one of the most heavily anticipated regular season games in recent NBA memory as Luka Doncic returned to the American Airlines Center.

Luka Doncic entered the court with the Los Angeles Lakers for his first game back in Dallas to cheers in an arena where draped over every seat was a T-shirt with the Slovenian phrase for thank you for everything.

Besides, Dallas just made it to the Finals last year largely on the strength of its defense. From the P.J. Washington trade to the end of the 2023-24 campaign, the Mavericks were seventh in points allowed per 100 possessions. In the playoffs, the Thunder and Celtics were the only teams that made it past the first round and had better defenses.

Anthony Davis notched his fourth career triple-double, tallying 23 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a blowout 124-102 win over the visiting Toronto Raptors on Friday.

The Dallas Mavericks have released final injury reports for tonight's matchup with the Toronto Raptors, highlighted by Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson.