After being teammates for six seasons at the Lakers, LeBron James and Anthony Davis faced off as rivals for the first time last night.
The Lakers well and truly got the best of the Mavs 112-97 at American Airlines Center in Luka Doncic’s return to Dallas.
Naturally, LeBron was asked after the game what it was like going head-to-head with his old pal AD.
“Different,” James said. “Different. Obviously we had our own emotions built into it, so I think it was just different. I think it was the first time we played against each other since ’19 I believe when he was in New Orleans, my first year here… Just different, man. I ain’t got comfortable yet with him being on the other side, for sure.”
James finished with 27 points, seven rebounds, three assists and one steal while shooting 11/20 from the field in 36 minutes.
He scored 13 of those points in the fourth quarter and Davis was nothing but complimentary of the Lakers star.
“I think any time he got the ball — in [isolation] we did a good job, but his points were all slashes and over helps from other guys,” Davis said of James’ fourth quarter explosion.
The Dallas big man also spoke about the bombshell trade between him and Luka.
“Both of us were caught off [guard], surprised by [the trade],” Davis told reporters. “But that was two months ago. It happened. There’s nothing we can do about it now. Just told him, ‘Good game.’ He played a hell of a game. Just a respect thing.”
The pair shared some words and an embrace after the game.
Respect 🤝 (via @SportsCenter) pic.twitter.com/423vvx5WdT
— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) April 10, 2025
Davis was kept a little quiet the whole night, finishing with 13 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and one block while shooting 5/13 from the field and 0/2 from the three-point range in 33 minutes.
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