While Harden had a night to remember, NBA fans were met with devastating news earlier in the week. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Tuesday that Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving had suffered a torn ACL, ruling him out for the rest of the season.

The fortunes of the Lakers and Mavericks couldn't be more different after the Luka Doncic trade, with Kyrie Irving's injury being the latest piece of bad news for Dallas.

According to NBA insider Shams Charania of ESPN, Anthony Davis could sit out the rest of the season for the Dallas Mavericks.  Davis is dealing with a left adductor strain.

The most charitable possible explanation for the Luka Dončić trade -- and this was already a stretch -- was that it improved the team's short-term prospects. Nico Harrison told us as much when he said,