Luka Doncic scores 45 points in Dallas return as Lakers clinch playoff spot with 112-97 win

DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 45 points in his first game in Dallas since being traded to the Los Angeles, helping the Lakers wrap up a playoff spot with a 112-97 victory over the Mavericks on Wednesday night.

Doncic's emotional return came two months after a seismic trade out of nowhere that sent the five-time All-Star to Los Angeles. The 26-year-old star from Slovenia spent his first 5 1/2 seasons with the Mavericks, and still had two seasons left on his contract.

The 45 points matched Doncic's season high — he did that once for Dallas and one other time for the Lakers. He also had eight rebounds, six assists and four steals.

LeBron James had 13 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, when the Lakers fell behind before a strong finish.

Anthony Davis, who went from the Lakers to Dallas in the Doncic heal, had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Naji Marshall led the Mavs with 23 points and eight assists.

The Lakers remained third in the Western Conference standings after their third game in four days. They came to Dallas after splitting a pair of games at Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City.

Dallas (38-42) is guaranteed a losing record a year after making the NBA Finals. The Mavs are still in position to finish 10th and make the play-in tournament.

James's three-point play with 8:10 left broke an 87-all tie and put the Lakers ahead to stay, and he added a layup 34 seconds later. That came after Dallas' 15-2 run.

James' 1,561st career regular-season game moved him past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for sole possession of second place on the NBA list. Only Robert Parrish with 1,611 has more than the 40-year-old James. It was his 418th game in seven seasons with the Lakers, after 849 games with Cleveland and 294 with Miami.

Both teams play their regular-season home finales Friday night, when the Mavericks take on Toronto, and the Lakers host Houston.

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Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic follows through on a shot in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (77) gestures as he walks on the court during a time out in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (77) shoots as Dallas Mavericks' Naji Marshall (13) defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic gestures to an official in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

A fan holds up a sign thanking Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic as he stands on the court at rear late in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves (15) and Luka Doncic (77) celebrate in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (77) makes a pass as Dallas Mavericks' P.J. Washington (25) and Max Christie, right rear, defend in the second half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (77) and Rui Hachimura, center right, celebrate late in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (77) and LeBron James (23) celebrate in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (77) and LeBron James, center, right, hug and celebrate late in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (77) reacts to play in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

McCAYSVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Thunderstorms caused record flooding overnight in twin towns straddling the Georgia-Tennessee border, submerging some buildings to their rooflines on Thursday as emergency responders rescued dozens of people.

The storms dropped heavy rain across a mountainous area that drains into the Toccoa River between McCaysville, Georgia, and Copperhill, Tennessee, causing life-threatening flooding on both sides. The Toccoa then flows into the Ocoee River, where the Tennessee Valley Authority was managing water levels at three of its hydroelectric dams.

As much as 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 centimeters) fell overnight between the north Georgia towns of Blue Ridge and Ellijay, and runoff from uncontrolled streams swelled the rivers below, according to the TVA.

The Toccoa River reached a record high Thursday morning of 18 feet (5.5 meters), according to a river gauge in Copperhill, where fewer than 500 people live across from McCaysville, home to about 1,000. Copperhill officials urged people to take shelter in either town's City Hall as the river reached 2 feet (0.6 meters) above the level forecasters consider “catastrophic."

“It’s over the rooftops in several different areas. Right here in our downtown business district it’s about 6-7 feet high,” McCaysville Police Chief Michael Earley told Fox5 Atlanta. “I have one of my police cars that’s floating down the river right now. Don’t know where it’s at, but it’s somewhere down there.”

Photos and video showed some buildings submerged up to their rooflines as rescue crews in red boats and motorized rafts navigated through deep, rushing water flowing over downtown streets.

Earley told reporters about 40 people were rescued overnight plus five or six more Thursday morning. One firefighter suffered a minor injury and a few residents were treated for suspected hypothermia and shock, “but from what we could tell, everybody looked to be OK.”

The water began receding by late Thursday morning, said Robert Poole, spokesperson for the Fannin County Emergency Management Agency on the Georgia side. But the agency warned people against a false sense of security. “Floodwaters remain extremely dangerous, and conditions can continue to worsen even after the rain has stopped,” it said on social media.

Rescue operations were ongoing, with emergency personnel going house to house and searching overhead with a helicopter and drones, but the effort was complicated by cellphone and power outages, Earley said. The flooding also shut down the McCaysville water treatment plant, prompting a boil water advisory, and it put the city's dump trucks and heavy equipment out of reach.

The quaint downtowns are a destination for scenic railroad rides -- the Blue Ridge Railway on the Georgia side and the Copperhill Special in Tennessee. Both treat tourists to river and mountain views before stopping to sample the restaurants and shops.

This disaster hits particularly hard because McCaysville's downtown was inundated by another flood in August, damaging the police station and post office along with other businesses and residences. The renovated police building reopened just last week.

“Now here we go again,” the chief said. "A lot of people came together, and we’ve been cleaning the town for the past few months. We’re getting ready for Christmas, a lot of McCaysville events, our Christmas parade. So it’s devastating.”

It's crazy to be hit with two such damaging floods in just three months, the chief said. “I don’t know what God is trying to tell me.”

This image from video provided by the Tennessee Highway Patrol shows flash flooding along the Ocoee River in Polk County, Tenn., on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (Sgt. Larry "Hitch" Hitchcock/Tennessee Highway Patrol via AP) CORRECTION: Ocoee River in Tenessee, Toccoa River in Georgia.