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The story still was about Lakers superstar Luka Doncic and Dallas star Anthony Davis, who were part of one of the NBA’s most infamous trades. They forever will be linked after the Mavericks shocked the basketball universe last February by shipping generational talent Doncic to the Lakers in a deal for multitalented Davis.

On Friday night, however, Doncic shared the spotlight with Austin Reaves, who continues to be a shining star for the Lakers.

They combined for 73 points during the Lakers’ 129-119 win over the Mavericks, and it was Reaves holding down the leading scorer spot over backcourt running mate Doncic.

Reaves was efficient with his work in scoring 38 points, going 12 for 15 from the field and six for eight from three-point range to go with eight rebounds.

The fans even chanted “M-V-P!" when Reaves shot two free throws midway through the fourth quarter, a sign of how dominant he was.

“I finally made the threes, so that was nice,” Reaves said. “Like you said, Luka draws so much attention. [LeBron James[ obviously [is] Bron and they are gonna get the majority of attention. I kind of run around out there and find open spots and make shots, hopefully big shots, and [I] sort of done [that] the last of the night.”

Doncic also was efficient in dropping 35 points on his old Mavericks teammates, going 10 for 17 from the field, four for nine from three-point range, and making all 11 of his free throws.

Doncic also had 11 assists and five rebounds to help the Lakers push their winning streak to six.

The emotions of playing the Mavericks aren’t as raw as they were the first time Doncic played in Dallas, but he admitted that he still has fond feelings for the franchise.

"I would say it's a little bit easier now,” Doncic said. “But like I said, games against Dallas always have some special meaning to me. I still have a lot of friends there. It's always special. It'll always be special for me."

The Lakers improved to 4-0 in NBA Cup Group B play and clinched home-court advantage in the quarterfinals. They will host the San Antonio Spurs on Dec 10.

Before the Lakers play in that NBA Cup game, they have back-to-back games here, Sunday against the Pelicans and Monday against the Suns, and then travel to Toronto, Boston and Philadelphia before returning home for the single-elimination game against the Spurs.

“Yeah, just, I mean, you want to win the games regardless, whether they're for the Cup or not,” Reaves said. “Just to have the best record that you can.”

Davis, who returned after missing 14 games because of a left calf strain, scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out five assists in his first game in Los Angeles since the trade.

Deandre Ayton, who missed the Lakers' game against the Clippers on Tuesday because of a right knee contusion, had 17 points and eight rebounds.

Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick in the draft, had 13 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.

Court change

The Lakers didn’t use their special NBA Cup court during their group stage game against the Mavericks after the team flagged concerns that it was too slippery.

After the Lakers debuted the special yellow court Tuesday in a win over the Clippers, Doncic said during his postgame news conference that the floor was dangerously slippery. The team reported the problem to the league, and technicians from the court vendor determined the surface was unplayable for the group stage finale, according to a team spokesperson.

The court could be repaired and available in time for the NBA Cup quarterfinals.

The colorful NBA Cup courts were designed to help set the in-season tournament apart from other regular-season games. The Lakers played their first two NBA Cup games on the road — in Memphis and New Orleans — and Doncic did not remember having a problem with courts in those games, but it became immediately clear during pregame warmups Tuesday that the Lakers’ bright yellow NBA Cup court presented issues.

"Yeah, and I really appreciate the Lakers and the league,” Doncic said. “They did us a favor. I was talking about it, so I really appreciate both of them, just changing the court and (so we can) stay healthy."

For Ayton, who missed the previous game against the Clippers because of a bruised right knee, his return was more than about his 17 points and eight rebounds.

He was mostly impressed by the way Reaves performed.

“He was making some tough buckets, man, like some mean, aggressive buckets under the rim where us trees (big men) were down there and he was making some tough baskets,” Ayton said. “I’m just like, ‘You a dawg.’ I’m running back telling him, ‘You a dawg. Like, you are making some tough baskets.’ You just got to take your hat off to him. I”ve been seeing it since I got here.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Maybe wins against the Hornets and Nets earlier this week didn’t do it for you. But Josh Hart’s play in the Knicks’ win over Milwaukee on Friday has to move the needle toward keeping him in the starting lineup.

Hart was everywhere on Friday -- Guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo. Pushing the ball in transition. Play-making as a release to the double-teams on Jalen Brunson. Rebounding the ball.

It was a prototypical Hart game. 

If his play in the starting lineup continues, Mike Brown may have to think long and hard about making a permanent change.

Brown in the last three games has gone with Karl-Anthony Towns at center, Mitchell Robinson off the bench and Hart in the lineup.

Hart is averaging seven assists and 12 rebounds per game in that span. 

Again, you can brush off those numbers when they come against the Hornets and Nets, but in a highly competitive game against Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, Hart’s performance was crucial.

“He played well on both sides of the ball. He’s in a good rhythm right now,” Brunson said after the game. “Just need him to stick with that. He’s a key part, an X-factor in what we do.”

Speaking of lineups, Brown sounds like a coach who wants to see more of Robinson off the bench. 

Earlier in the season, Brown seemed to favor starting Robinson alongside Towns, but the big man has come off the bench in each of his last two games. 

“I’ve liked what I’ve seen so far,” Brown said after Robinson’s six points, seven rebounds and two steals off the bench Friday. 

“Mitch has given us a great punch off the bench. His ability to offensive rebound against starters and backups has been huge for us. So he has to keep bringing that to the table. So he gives us a different look in the starting lineup and then gives us a different look when he comes off the bench.”

The guess here is that Robinson will continue to come off the bench if everyone is healthy. 

When everyone does return, though, the big question for Brown will be whether to keep Hart in the starting lineup over options such as Landry Shamet and Miles McBride.

MVP TALK FOR BRUNSON

Brunson had 37 points on 21 shots on Friday night. He was on fire in the third quarter (16 points, 7-8 FG's) then made all the right reads in the fourth quarter when Milwaukee sent a second defender at him. 

He has scored 27 or more points in each of the past seven games.

“He should be talked about right now -- it’s early -- but as a potential MVP,” Brown said after the game. “There’s not enough chatter which -- it’s early -- so I’m not throwing a fit -- but the guy had 37 tonight on 12-of-21. And he gets blitzed often and he makes the right basketball play. He basically did what he was supposed to do and that’s why I don’t talk about it a lot because that’s what he’s capable of doing and that’s what he’s supposed to do being of that stature.

“But hopefully you guys and your peers will start really talking the right way about this young man in terms of him having some MVP talk because that’s what he is,” Brown said, referring to the media. “We’re not playing the best basketball right now but we’re trending in the right direction and he’s the engine behind it So to me, he just did what he’s supposed to do, which equates to him being the MVP of the league.”

Brown also praised another Knick point guard on Friday -- he likes what he’s seen from Tyler Kolek lately. 

Kolek had five points (all off of Hart assists), two steals and an assist in 10 minutes against Milwaukee. 

This continues a strong week overall for the youngster who chipped in five assists and three rebounds against Brooklyn, then seven points and three assists against Charlotte.  

“I didn’t play him as much as I wanted to tonight but the last two games when he’s gotten minutes, he’s been really good defensively,” Brown said. “He’s been really physical without fouling. He’s been really good pushing the basketball and distributing the basketball while getting us into our offense. I expect nothing but that from him and again I wished I’d played him a little longer because again, (he’s) on a pretty good run.”

Jalen Brunson is once again doing Jalen Brunson things.

The All-Star point guard has led the way for the Knicks’ offense all season, and that was the case again during Friday night’s NBA Cup victory over the Bucks.

Milwaukee led by one by after a back-and-forth first two quarters. 

The captain took things over from there, though, scoring 16 of New York’s 31 points in the third quarter on an efficient 6-of-7 shooting from the field to push them in front.

Brunson added just six more points in a relatively quiet final frame, but his biggest bucket was an and-one layup to put the Knicks up six with just a minute and a half left. 

He out-dueled Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, finishing the night with a game-high 37 points on 12-of-21 from the field and 4-of-6 from three while dishing five assists.

“He’s a special guy,” Miles McBride said of Brunson.

“We love games where he’s able to get it going,” Josh Hart added.

There’s been plenty of games like that of late -- Brunson is averaging 31.6 points and 6.1 assists on 52 percent from the field and 44 percent from downtown over his past seven.

That’s brought his average up to 29.1 points, 6.2 assists, and 3.2 rebounds on the season.

While it’s still early, head coach Mike Brown feels he should be getting more love in MVP talks.

“There’s not enough chatter,” he said. “It’s early, so I’m not throwing a fit, but the guy had 37 tonight on 12-of-21 (shooting), and he gets blitzed often and he makes the right play -- he did what he’s supposed to do, and that’s why we don’t talk about it because that’s what he’s capable of.

“But hopefully you guys will start talking the right way about this young man in terms of him having some MVP talk because that’s what he is. We’re not playing the best basketball right now, but we’re trending in the right direction and he’s the engine behind it, so to me he did what he's supposed to do which equates to him being the MVP.”

The Knicks are officially moving on in the NBA Cup. 

With Friday night’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks, the defending cup champions, New York locked up East Group C and booked its ticket to the quarterfinals.

It is now the only team to advance in all three years of the NBA Cup's existence.

New York went 3-1 in Group Play this time around with its only loss against the Chicago Bulls.

The Knicks now go on the road to face the Raptors in their quarterfinal matchup on Dec. 9 at 8:30 p.m.

Toronto is 14-5 on the season, and went a perfect 4-0 in group play to lock up East Group A.

The other quarterfinal matchup in the East will be the Magic (Group B) against the Heat (wild card).