How the story changes depending on the neighborhood in which you tell it. This game takes two positions to the extremes that two or three weeks ago seemed unthinkable. The Mavericks (47-29) remain one victory away from the third place held by the Warriors, who have choked first with the loss of Green and now with that of Curry, when the intention was simply to preserve fourth place to have in favor the court factor in the first round of the playoffs. The Lakers (31-44) are expelled from the area of the play-in, even if it is on equal footing with the Spurs, after having the classification in hand for many days due to the mistakes of the rivals. This confrontation between the two, the last of the three of the season, supposes that duality of victory and defeat so logical in sport but raised to the maximum power. The Mavericks are about to hit the big time. The Lakers just took the umpteenth this year.
Luka Doncic he contributed a triple-double of 34 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists to this victory for the Texans. Reggie Bullock, with 17 points, made the shots again and Davis Bertans also signed up, who contributed 14 points. in the Lakers The absence of LeBron James was more surprising despite the fact that he warned him – he came injured from the Pelicans game even though he played the second half with a sore ankle – than the non-incorporation of Anthony Davis, who was already in doubt for today because he has returned to training. The Californians had Monk, with 28, and Westbrook, with 25, as their most outstanding men.
There was more thought in those who were not than in those who were. Speaking of players, of course. The Lakers suffered the loss of their two main stars and remained hanging on those thoughts during a first part in which they left the match. Then there was only wailing. Another bulky result (128-110) for a team that has fewer and fewer bullets left and, regular season close to finishing, what he has in his hands is a bomb.
It seemed as if the double low in the Lakers’ starting scene was a mental barrier. And so did the Mavericks. Those at home took out the knife without having to sharpen it, doing damage from the beginning of the competition, to get the advantage there that later earned them for the rest of the night. Luka Doncic played a fundamental role, he was the main punisher of an absolutely clueless rival who wandered the track haphazardly. Playing with Powell they got three positive actions and Vogel punished Howard, leaving him without minutes the rest of the day, and read three times the superiority against Gabriel, the defender who stayed with him in the changes, to hit three triples. The distance shot up fast to ten points. But, to top it off, came the dizziness. Communication was non-existent in the Lakers’ defense and the Mavericks dedicated themselves to moving the ball so that the perimeter shooting party was not limited only to Doncic: Kleber, Bullock and Green also contributed in the first quarter, which closed with a 43-25 that left no room for doubt. But it was worse later: more passes from Dallas, two triples from Bertans to gain confidence and a 3+1 from Dinwiddie in the race. In the middle of the second quarter the disadvantage of the visitors exceeded thirty. By not going down during the following minutes, neither those of that set nor the one that came after the break, the Lakers relaxed (for worse) and ended up making up the score in the last period. The maximum became 37 after, of course, another triple scored by Doncic in the third quarter. No more was needed.
