Earlier Wednesday, a protest mural that features a navy Mavericks hat with a piece of duct tape over the logo that reads, "FIRE NICO," popped up in downtown Dallas ahead of Dončić's return.

While there were no organized protests outside the arena before the game, plenty of people wore No. 77 jerseys — both the purple and gold ones of the Lakers and Mavericks jerseys as well, though some ...