Luka and LeBron Post Massive Triple Doubles, as Lakers Top Mavs in Overtime, 119-110

Luka Doncic and LeBron James gave the fans at American Airlines Center all of their money's worth and more on Friday night as the Dallas Mavericks fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in overtime, 119-110. James, who is fifth in NBA history when it comes to triple-doubles, carried the Lakers with his 39 points, 12 rebounds and 16 assists. Doncic went toe-to-toe with his idol all night long, and recorded the 10th triple-double of his young career, putting up 31 points, thirteen rebounds and a career-high fifteen assists.

Following his 31-point, 13-rebound and 15-assist triple-double, #Mavericks G/F Luka Dončić joined Lakers forward LeBron James as the only players in @NBA history to record multiple 30-point triple-doubles before their 21st birthday, according to @bball_ref. pic.twitter.com/XtLMoS3WCN
— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) November 2, 2019

"You're a bad m--------!'' said LeBron to Luka after the game.

In this outing, the Mavs started the same five players from a previous game for the first time all season, and that continuity seemed to help them out on the court early, as they jumped out to a 22-8 lead in the first quarter. The Lakers fought back, but Dallas was able to maintain a decent lead throughout the game until the fourth quarter.

With the Mavs trailing 100-99, Doncic threw a beautiful dime to Dorian Finney-Smith in the corner for the go-ahead three with 31 seconds remaining. Now leading 102-100, the Mavs got the stop they needed on the other end, and Dwight Powell was fouled with just 6.4 seconds remaining. After Powell made just one of his two free throws, Danny Green, who the Mavs coveted in free agency this past summer, hit a corner three in front of the Mavs bench to send the game into overtime. The Green three was a controversial one, however, as Dwight Howard was seen holding on to Seth Curry's jersey, preventing him from being able to properly close out on Green. The missed call was so obvious, the Mavs' social media team had to have some fun with it.

MFFLs, make sure you grab a new Mavs jersey before the next game! pic.twitter.com/9MQq58cwjc
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) November 2, 2019

Despite being on the wrong end of a handful of calls in this one, including one missed call that left Doncic with a head laceration, the Mavs still had many opportunities to close out the game in regulation. Dallas made just 16-of-23 free throws on the night, committed 23 turnovers to the Lakers' 11, and missed several chip shots at the rim throughout the night as well. As was the case in the Portland loss last Sunday night, a lot of things had to go wrong for the Mavs to lose this game.

Although Dallas - now 3-2 on the season - will be frustrated with how this one ended up, the fact that they were able to give the LeBron, Anthony Davis and the Lakers all they could handle for four full quarters is a very encouraging sign for what could be in store for the rest of the year. With the Golden State Warriors now reeling after Steph Curry went down with a broken hand, another playoff spot has presumably been thrown up for grabs, and the Mavs are looking more and more like a team that could make that leap.

“I learned that we have a talented group," said Carlisle. "We have an amazing ability to make plays, but we have to work on the ‘next play’ mentality when things do get difficult. This is such a challenging game for a younger team. You have a team like the Lakers with two MVP candidates. This is one of those crucibles where it’s, 'Every little thing that happens out there, matters.' We were very close from being 4-1 and probably being the lead story on the morning talk shows tomorrow, but now we’re 3-2 and we have to regroup and get on the plane tomorrow to go to Cleveland.”

The Mavs will indeed now turn their attention to the 2-3 Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night at 6:30 p.m. CT. Cleveland hasn't lost at home yet this season, and Dallas hasn't lost on the road, so something will have to give.