The Dallas Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 109-104 thanks to a strong crunchtime performance by Luka Doncic. The Slovenian repeatedly looked for a direct duel with LeBron James and made the Lakers superstar look old several times.
Los Angeles Lakers (27-34) – Dallas Mavericks (37-25) 104:109 (BOXSCORE)
Doncic (25 points, 9/21 FG, 8 rebounds, 5 assists) didn’t hit a single three (0/5), but scored in crunch time 6 important points from isolations against LeBron James and served Dwight Powell two more times. It was all part of the crucial 11-0 run in the fourth quarter that tipped the game in the Mavs’ favour. The Lakers, on the other hand, ran out of breath, in the last seven minutes the hosts only scored two field goals (4:15 run by the Mavs over 7:23 minutes).
LeBron (26, 10/18, 12 rebounds, 5 assists), who shot his team back into the game in the third quarter, also failed. It was almost fitting that the four-time MVP airballed a three when he could have narrowed to -3 with 30 seconds left. Carmelo Anthony (20, 6/11) helped James as best he could, Russell Westbrook (12, 5/17, 8 assists) didn’t hit a single jump shot.
Doncic, on the other hand, had more help, most notably from Jalen Brunson (22, 9/15), who got Dallas back on track in the fourth quarter after the Mavs blew an interim 21-point lead. Also notable were Dorian Finney-Smith (16, 9 rebounds), Dwight Powell (13, 7 boards), and Spencer Dinwiddie (14, 9 assists). Maxi Kleber helped with 6 points (3/5 FG), 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.
After the embarrassing performance against New Orleans, the Lakers initially reacted and kept up well. James started as a center and posed problems for Dallas, but when the superstar went to the bench, things got serious again. The guests put on a 13-0 run, Doncic grabbed over Dwight Howard a spectacular putback dunk.
Luka Doncic outperforms LeBron James in crunch time
The Mavs took a small lead, then the distance shots fell, Finney-Smith alone hit three triples, Brunson also had a hot hand in this phase. The guests scored 41 points in the second half and scored almost at will. On the Lakers side, Anthony helped that the game wasn’t decided prematurely (the Mavs led by up to 21 points), but the break went 71-56 in favor of the visitors.
The door stayed open and the Lakers started the third quarter with a 13-1 run, including two long-range shots from Stanley Johnson. LeBron also seemed spurred on by this, the King equalized the game with three triples in a row, one of those hits even came from the logo. The Mavs, on the other hand, missed a lot (6/19 in the quarter), produced turnovers (7) and went into the last twelve minutes with a deficit.
And it stayed that way because the hosts had gained self-confidence. Dallas only kept pace thanks to the towering Brunson, who hit his jumpers and also ripped gaps with drives. Only later did Doncic wake up again, who was now looking for a direct duel with LeBron and managed the lion’s share of an 11-0 run. The Slovenian isolated three times against the Lakers star, he also scored three times. The Lakers, on the other hand, ran out of breath, also because James didn’t want to succeed anymore.
