Lakers Highlights: LA Falls To Shorthanded Mavericks On Road

Your Los Angeles Lakers three-game win streak (four if you count LA's In-Season Tournament championship game win, which occupies some kind of weird NBA netherworld between the regular season and the postseason and technically isn't actually a regular season game) is over.

On Tuesday night, the club lost its second nail-biter of the season to the Dallas Mavericks, 127-125, despite the club missing two starters in All-Star guard Kyrie Irving and forward Derrick Jones Jr.

All-NBA point guard Luka Doncic (33 points) and bench wing Tim Hardaway Jr. (32 points) were the offensive stars of the show for Dallas, which managed to withstand a late fourth-quarter LA run to preserve a win in Dallas.

Three of the Lakers' four top scorers this season were their three top scorers tonight (D'Angelo Russell had a rough game, as is his occasional custom), as center Anthony Davis (37 points), power forward LeBron James (33) and reserve shooting guard Austin Reaves (22) all enjoyed big offensive nights. Starting wing Taurean Prince was the only other Laker in double digits.

The Mavericks led LA 34-26 by the end of the first quarter, powered by Doncic and a wealth of three-point shooting.

In the second quarter, the Lakers quickly worked to condense that deficit, thanks to a 13-8 run to start the frame. James and Davis struggled to convert their free throw tries early, while Davis also found himself in early foul trouble. Even still, no one else stepped up in the first half of the quarter. Through the frame's first six minutes, James and Davis chipped in 12 of the club's first 15 points, on 5-of-6 shooting.

At one point, Davis came up limping and headed for LA's bench.

A more balanced attack eventually put the Mavs up by as much as 15 points in that second period, until a late run spearheaded by frequent drives from an aggressive LeBron James narrowed the gap to 10 points at the break.

LEBRON THROWS IT DOWN 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/PVPSPQuc3t
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 13, 2023

Dallas led, 71-61, after the first half.

Through the first two quarters, the Mavericks outclassed Los Angeles in fastbreak points (14-4), bench scoring (24-16), and points off turnovers (15-6). The Lakers, as usual, dominated inside, outscoring Dallas 32-24 in the post.

With Davis back in the fold at the top of the fourth quarter, the Lakers probably assumed they'd be able to get back into the game quickly. Instead, they fell behind by 15, before mounting a rally to get within five points, 83-78, midway through the period.

A Brow triple helped Los Angeles re-take the advantage:

AD for three to give LA the lead! 🎯

32 PTS through the 3rd 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZzW6IGX51o
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 13, 2023

A 34-22 third quarter overall put LA on top at the end of the frame, 95-93.

Both teams traded buckets the rest of the way. Here's your obligatory cool clutch LeBron James moment of the evening:

LeBron uses the spin move to get to the cup 😤 pic.twitter.com/tsbBoJrxZD
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 13, 2023

Davis went quiet on offense at the worst possible time, scoring just five points in the final period of regulation.

The surprise hero of the fourth quarter for the Mavericks was... former lottery pick Dante Exum, who had been mired in the international basketball wilderness for a bit prior to being picked up by Dallas this summer:

17 POINTS IN Q4 FOR DANTE EXUM 🔥 pic.twitter.com/nNPtfrKP6B
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 13, 2023

Dallas closed things out on top, dropping LA to a 14-10 record on the year.

Los Angeles enjoyed a surprisingly robust night from long range, connecting on 51.7% of its triple tries as a unit.

There's no rest for the losers, unfortunately. LA will continue its tour of the Lone Star State tomorrow, where it will play the reeling San Antonio Spurs, losers of 17 straight games.

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