Best memes and tweets after Luka Doncic gives Mavericks a piece of his mind

Luka Doncic is one of the fiercest competitors in the NBA. He's a stone-cold killer on the court and certainly doesn't need more motivation to dominate. But the Dallas Mavericks further lit a fire under the perennial MVP candidate by trading him to the Los Angeles Lakers. That became evident from the jump of the first game against his former team.

Doncic and the Lakers hosted the Mavericks on Tuesday night in one of the most eagerly anticipated regular-season meetings in recent memory. The energy was palpable, even through the television, specifically in the opening half. Dallas' ex-organizational centerpiece came out with an unmistakable vengeance and wasn't afraid to show it.

From receiving a (lame) technical foul less than three minutes into the contest to constantly staring down the Mavericks' bench, Doncic brought the theatrics. But most importantly, he backed up his smack talk with strong play, propelling the Lakers to a 59-51 lead after two quarters of action.

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Best memes and tweets after Luka Doncic gives Mavericks a piece of his mind

After draining a deep, contested step-back three over two Mavericks defenders, Doncic immediately turned to mean-mug Dallas' sidelines. However, it wasn't the last time he grilled his previous colleagues, hence the latter of the two posts reactions.

Speaking with your eyes was an underlying theme of the first half. Doncic wasn't the only one sending a message with his peepers. Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, who made the stunning blockbuster swap that sent the Slovenian superstar to the Lakers, got caught gazing from the stands.

The regret and angst on Harrison's face as he got a front-row seat to watch Doncic cook the Mavericks was apparent and captured in 4K. Nonetheless, Lakers fans are thankful for the former. The purple and gold faithful fed off the latter's energy, showering the Dallas executive with "thank you, Nico" chants.

Overall, the early goings from Doncic's inaugural clash with the Mavericks were exciting. The five-time All-NBA floor general balled out, nearly logging a triple-double with four combined steals and blocks through 24 minutes of action.