The Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night in what was their final game before the All-Star break.
The Lakers were looking to get back on track after back-to-back tough losses, although Luka Doncic remained out against his former team, missing his fourth straight game with a hamstring injury. The Mavericks were also without Cooper Flagg and other key players though, so the Lakers were able to go into the break on a high note with a 124-104 win.
LeBron James got the Lakers off to an exceptional start with three straight assists to Marcus Smart, Jaxson Hayes and Rui Hachimura. The 41-year-old then hit back-to-back 3-pointers and the Mavericks needed a timeout with the Lakers jumping out to a 14-4 lead.
That timeout worked well for Dallas as they responded with a 12-2 run of their own to quickly tie the game.
James was doing everything for the Lakers in the first quarter, and Hachimura was giving him some help on the offensive end to take a 36-31 lead going into the second.
The Lakers have a nice stretch early in the second, going on an 11-0 run to get the lead back to double digits.
Just when it looked like they were starting to role though, the Lakers had a letdown to end the half as the Mavericks closed strong to cut their deficit to just one at 64-63.
Looking to get back on track to begin the third quarter, the Lakers got some much-needed offense from unexpected players with Smart, Jarred Vanderbilt and Maxi Kleber all hitting triples.
With James and Reaves continuing to run the offense effectively, the Lakers’ lead steadily started to grow. Meanwhile, the Mavericks went ice cold from the field and L.A. took a 96-82 lead into the fourth. The Lakers ended the third on a 15-3 run to regain control.
James and the Lakers continued to pour it on with six straight points to begin the fourth quarter, getting their lead up to 20.
Again though, they let go of the rope a bit from there as Dallas began to creep back into the game with an 8-0 run.
Before things got out of hand, Reaves responded with a three-point play and then a triple. The took the wind out of the Mavericks’ sales as the Lakers have no issues closing out the win and heading into the break with a 33-21 record.
In the win, James finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, passing former Laker Karl Malone as the oldest player in NBA history to record a triple-double.
What’s next for the Lakers…
The Lakers will now get some much-needed time off for the All-Star break before returning to the court next Friday against the L.A. Clippers at Crypto.com Arena.
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