EL SEGUNDO — In Saturday night’s road win against the Denver Nuggets, the Lakers got their first glimpse of Luka Doncic having a “blackout episode,” as coach JJ Redick put it, when the 25-year-old Slovenian’s “killer mentality” and “joyful” sides were simultaneously on display.

The Lakers’ next opponent tonight — the Dallas Mavericks — are very familiar with those sides of Doncic.

Doncic, who turns 26 on Friday, spent the first 6 1/2 seasons of his NBA career with the Mavericks after being the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft, being named an All-Star and an All-NBA first-team honoree for five consecutive seasons (2020-24) before he was shockingly traded to the Lakers on Feb. 1.

“I think he’ll be fine,” Redick said of Doncic, who didn’t speak to reporters after the team’s practice on Monday.

“Every day that he’s been with us it’s becoming a little more normal. I’ve been there. The first time you play your old team, particularly this close in time duration, it’s going to be weird. But he’ll be OK.”

Tonight will be the first time that Doncic will play against his former team since the Mavericks sent him to Los Angeles as part of a three-team deal that sent All-Star big man Anthony Davis and guard Max Christie from the Lakers to Dallas, and Jalen Hood-Schifino and a second-round draft pick from the Lakers to the Utah Jazz.

Along with Doncic, the Lakers acquired veteran forwards Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris, providing Doncic with a few familiar faces during his transition with the Lakers.

Redick played with Doncic in Dallas at the end of the 2020-21 season before retiring. Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith and Doncic were teammates in Dallas from 2018-23 before Finney-Smith was traded to the Brooklyn Nets ahead of the 2023 trade deadline.

“Just having familiar faces around is great for him,” Redick said. “You never know, though, because you’re talking about a guy who left home as a teenager to go to Madrid in a different country and learn how to speak Spanish on his own. He’s a different dude. But I think for him, given the magnitude of the change of scenery, I think having us around to help support him, I think has been great.”

Finney-Smith, who’s often seen shooting with Doncic after practices, said he was “excited” to see how Doncic will respond to playing against his former team, acknowledging the human element that came with the shock of being traded to the Lakers.

“I think he’s going to be excited, but everybody in the locker room is excited,” Finney-Smith said. “We got his back. It’s gonna be a hard-fought game. I know (Mavericks coach Jason Kidd) is gonna have them ready to come here and compete. So we just gotta match that intensity.”

Finney-Smith added of Doncic: “I know he’s gonna be ready. But I try not to put too much pressure on him because at the end of the day, we just want to get the win. We get the win, I know he’s gonna be happy.”

There’s been plenty to be happy about for the Lakers lately.

With a 14-4 record over their last 18 games, the Lakers have the league’s best winning percentage since Jan. 15.

They have the league’s best defensive rating (107.8), third-best net rating (plus-9.8) and eighth-best offensive rating (117.6) during that stretch.

And they’ve upped their play against the league’s best teams.

The Lakers have won seven consecutive games against teams with records above .500. Their 15-12 record against above-.500 teams is the third-best mark in the Western Conference.

“More times than not, we’ve done really well,” Redick responded when asked about that showing. “There’s certainly a feel to it, of when to press and when not to press. I can’t wait for (tonight). And I’ll be excited for Wednesday. Like that’s just, for me personally, that’s just how I know I’m doing the right thing right now.

“My own sustainability, I’m not worried about that. I think as a coach, you just have to gauge the energy of the group and the vibe of the group and know when to press and when not to press. But, we’re preparing. Our guys recognize we’re in a dogfight for playoff seeding right now. We’re preparing for the playoffs and everything we do over the next 27 games.”