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The Dallas Mavericks return home to face the struggling Charlotte Hornets on Thursday following an emotional loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and former franchise star Luka Doncic.

Dallas fell to Luka’s Lakers 107-99 on the road on Tuesday, marking the Mavericks’ second consecutive loss after tumbling to the Golden State Warriors 126-102 just two days prior.

Doncic finished with a triple-double in his first game against a Mavericks squad that dealt him west to California three weeks earlier.

Anthony Davis, who was traded to Dallas in the blockbuster trade, was unable to play on Tuesday due to a groin injury.

It was announced on Feb. 20 that Davis would have his left adductor strain reevaluated in two weeks.

Kyrie Irving led the way for the Mavericks with 35 points against the Lakers, while veteran Klay Thompson chipped in with 22.

“I thought we fought hard,” Thompson said after the loss. “I think we could have been better with the fouling, (Austin) Reaves is great at getting to the line, so is Luka.

“But I thought we played a great game as far as effort and intensity. There’s a couple possessions I wish I could have back instead of kicking out the three you know we kind of take those layups, but tough trip on the west coast, but there’s a lot of positives to go back home with.”

Max Christie, who also tagged along with Davis in the trade, put up all of his 10 points in the first half.

The fledgling Hornets, meanwhile, continue to search for answers as they close out a nine-game road swing.

After taking three consecutive losses to begin the trip, the Hornets took down the Lakers 100-97 on Feb. 19. Charlotte, though, has lost four straight since that win.

Scoring has been an issue for the Hornets all season and has continued to cost them lately, eclipsing the 100-point mark just three times throughout the trip.

Their most recent loss was a 128-92 drubbing at the hands of the Warriors on Tuesday.

“Offense again,” Hornets coach Charles Lee emphasized when asked about his team’s downfall in the blowout loss.

“Just trying to finish out some possessions, I thought the ball was moving, we had one too many turnovers. I think that they had 21 points off our turnovers in the first half. So again just a little bit of a hole dug, but I loved the continued fight and scrap from the team, standing up for themselves. You see that there is still more room for growth and the guys are still competing at a really high level, which I appreciate.”

KJ Simpson tallied 16 points in the loss and Seth Curry tacked on 14, but the Hornets struggled without leading scorer LaMelo Ball, who was sidelined with an ankle injury.

The 2020 first-round pick isn’t listed on the injury report for Thursday’s contest.

These two teams have split the past 10 meetings at five wins apiece, with the Hornets taking the last meeting 110-105 at home earlier this year.

–Field Level Media