BREAKING: TNT Makes Record-Setting Announcement After Luka Doncic, Lakers Beat Mavericks

As it turns out, Los Angeles Lakers point guard Luka Doncic wasn’t the only one who had Tuesday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks circled on his calendar.

In his first game against his former team, Doncic went off for 19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists as he joined teammate LeBron James and Denver Nuggets point guard Russell Westbrook as the only players in NBA history to record a triple-double against all 30 teams in the league.

Not only did Doncic’s big game help lead the Lakers to a 107-99 win, it also served as a moment of emotional catharsis for the 25-year-old star.

“It was just a lot of emotions and not much sleep,” Doncic told reporters after the win. “I can’t even explain. It was a different game. Sometimes I don’t know what I was doing. And I’m just glad it’s over, honestly. … The closure is going to take a while. It’s not ideal. But, like I said, I’m glad this game is over. There were a lot of emotions.”

 

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts with Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) during the first quarter at Crypto.com Arena.

Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

While the Doncic-versus-his-former-team storyline may have been what got fans to turn on the game, the Slovenian’s historic performance was what kept them captivated enough to keep watching.

And when TNT announced the ratings for the game on Wednesday, it showed just how intrigued fans were to watch Doncic seek his revenge against the team that traded him unexpectedly a few weeks ago.

Tuesday’s Lakers win averaged 2.5 million viewers and peaked with 2.9 million viewers the network announced, making it TNT’s most-watched NBA game this year since the season opener.

It’s also the most-watched NBA telecast ever on Max, and it drew more viewers than Doncic’s Lakers’ debut against the Utah Jazz on Feb. 10, which drew 2.01 million viewers.

 

The news comes on the heels of the Lakers’ 123-100 win over the Nuggets on Saturday, which drew 2.87 million viewers and is one of the 10 most-watched NBA games on ABC this season.

Given the ratings success of Tuesday’s game, the numbers should be even higher for the April 9 rematch, which will also mark Doncic’s first time returning to Dallas since the trade.