Luka Doncic nutmegs LeBron James with pass of the year contender in Mavericks’ win over Lakers

Luka Doncic was not at his most efficient on Wednesday night in the Dallas Mavericks’ 104-101 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, which was much closer than it should have been thanks to a disastrous fourth quarter by Doncic and Co. His poor shooting stretch continued with a 10-of-26 outing, including 1 of 6 in the final frame.

He was, however, perhaps at his most spectacular en route to 30 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists — the fourth of which might go down as the assist of the season. Not just for Doncic, but the entire league.

Early in the second quarter, Doncic took a pass from Josh Green in the corner and began driving towards the middle of the floor. The Lakers sent multiple defenders his way, and he seemed to be stuck as he picked up his dribble near the elbow. Then, suddenly, he whipped the ball across the court to Green in the opposite corner, but did so by skipping it between LeBron James’ legs.

No one on the court save for Doncic could believe the pass. Not Green, who bobbled the ball and took a few seconds to recover. Nor the Lakers, who despite Green’s momentary lapse still did not chase him down in the corner to contest his shot.

Here’s a few alternate angles from the Mavericks’ broadcast, which show how precise Doncic had to be. The second one, in particular, is stunning.

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Doncic’s pass would have gone down as an instant classic no matter who he nutmegged, but the fact that it was James makes it that much more memorable.

Even better for Doncic is that the Mavericks were able to hold on for the win despite blowing a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter. With the victory, the Mavericks snapped a two-game skid and got their mini two-game road trip to Los Angeles off to a strong start. Now 10-5 on the season, the Mavs are tied for third place in the Western Conference with the defending champion Denver Nuggets.