Luka still processing trade to Lakers: 'The closure is going to take a while'

Luka Doncic is relieved to have his first game against the Dallas Mavericks behind him, but the five-time All-Star is still processing his shocking midseason trade to the Los Angeles Lakers.

"The closure is going to take a while, I think," Doncic told reporters, including ESPN's Dave McMenamin, after the Lakers' 107-99 home win versus his former club. "It's not ideal. But like I said, I'm glad this game is over. There was a lot of emotions. But we go little by little, and every day is better."

Doncic tallied 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists in 35 minutes for his first triple-double as a Laker and 81st overall. He joins Russell Westbrook and teammate LeBron James as the only players in league history to record a triple-double against all 30 teams.

However, it was a rough shooting night for Doncic - he made only 1-of-7 attempts from deep and shot 6-for-17 from the field overall.

Emotions were certainly high for Doncic as he stared down the Mavs' bench and directed shouts to the visiting side on multiple occasions.

James commended Doncic for the way he tackled such challenging circumstances.

"Obviously, there's a lot of emotion that goes in when you give so much to a franchise and you sacrifice for a franchise and you have that type of love and respect for a franchise - throughout all the journeys," James said. "They went to the Finals, all that stuff. He's grown from being an 18-, 19-year-old kid to now a 25-year-old man with a family. ... And when you move on or they move on from you, it's very emotional, obviously. It's very taxing.

"It's probably a lot of things that were going on in his head that probably didn't even involve the game itself. And with that said, I thought he handled it tremendously."

Los Angeles sits fourth in the West with a 35-21 record, just two games back of the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies.

Meanwhile, the Mavs dropped to ninth in the conference with a 31-28 mark.

Doncic will make his return to Dallas on Apr. 9.