The Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night in a rare 5:30 p.m. PT tipoff. This marked the third game this season between the two teams with the Mavericks winning the first two.
All of the stars were available with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic all in uniform. Ultimately, it was the Lakers that came out on top, cruising to a 127-110 victory to get back to .500 at 21-21.
The big men got off to a good start in this one as Dereck Lively II had Dallas’s first six points while Davis got L.A. on the board with a dunk.
With the game tied at 10, the Mavericks rattled off seven straight points to begin to take control early. Davis started to get going from there though with a pair of buckets to keep his team close until James started to get going and they actually regained the lead.
While James and Davis had it going early, other guys like Max Christie and Rui Hachimura started to contribute off the bench as well as L.A. led 32-26 at the end of the first quarter.
The start of the second quarter was ugly for both teams, filled with turnovers and missed open shots. Doncic eventually started to get going though and things opened up offensively from there with Austin Reaves scoring five straight points for L.A.
After Taurean Prince was called for a Flagrant 1 foul on Grant Williams, which allowed the Mavericks to close the half strong and cut their deficit to 55-53 going into the locker room.
James was in attack mode to begin the third quarter, earning a three-point play. D’Angelo Russell got going from there with five straight and then Davis had a layup to extend the lead to double digits for the first time.
The Lakers continued extending the lead from there as Russell hit another triple and then Reaves hit Prince with an alley-oop in transition. After James burried a 3 of his own, the lead had ballooned to 22.
Dallas answered from there with eight straight points, although Davis continued to dominate on both ends and L.A. took a 97-80 lead into the fourth and final quarter.
If the Mavericks were gonna make a run to get back in the game it would have had to come early in the fourth quarter. Russell made sure that didn’t happen though as he continued to pour it on from deep, getting the lead to 23 just two minutes into the fourth.
Dallas eventually pulled the plug early, allowing L.A. to cruise to victory.
Up next for the Lakers
The Lakers continue their homestand over the weekend, hosting the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night and then the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
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