The Dallas Mavericks clinched their third win in a row on Christmas Day. In the 124:115 against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Mavs initially made a desolate start. But after the change of sides, Luka Doncic and Co. show a completely different face – and set a season record.
Dallas Mavericks (18-16) – Los Angeles Lakers (13-20) 124:115 (BOXSCORE)
At half-time Doncic had just 10 points, and his team-mates didn’t hit a barn door – although they got a few open attempts after double teams against Doncic. In the third quarter, however, the throwing luck turned. Dallas gave the Lakers 9 threes in that period and won the quarter 51-21 – no team has scored more points in one game this season.
The hosts converted an 11-point deficit into a 19-point lead at half-time. Although LeBron James tried to defend himself against the fourth bankruptcy in a row, the king received too little support. With 38 points (13/23 FG), 6 rebounds and 5 assists, he led his colors, otherwise only Russell Westbrok (17) and Austin Reaves (16) scored in double digits. Dennis Schröder had 7 points and 4 assists, LA only sunk 9/28 from downtown.
Thanks to the strong second half, Dallas ended up with 18/44 from the three country, 13/22 of which after the break. Doncic just missed a triple-double (32, 9 assists, 9 rebounds), Christian Wood made a really good game with 30 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals. That was also true in the second half for Tim Hardaway Jr. (26, 6/14 threes) or Reggie Bullock (14, 4/7 threes).
The Mavs got off to a shaky start. Doncic was repeatedly exposed to double teams, but his teammates failed to take advantage of the resulting space. Dallas started 1/7 from the range while LeBron and the Lakers pressured the small Mavs lineup in the zone. LA pulled away to 14 points before Doncic scored his first points and Bertans delivered some shooting off the bench. 28:21 for Lis Angeles after the first quarter.
Mavs catch fire in second half – Lakers have no chance
In addition to Bertans, McKinley Wright IV, who plays on a two-way contract, also delivered decent minutes and, above all, energy from the bench. However, Dallas still had no answers to LeBron in the zone and continued to search for their own shoot. At half time Dallas was at 5/22 threes (LAL: 5/15, plus 28:18 points in the paint), Doncic had just 10 points on the account. Dallas could almost count themselves lucky with the 43:54.
However, with 4 threes in the early minutes of the third quarter, the Mavs roleplayers came back strong in the game. The game was suddenly completely open again. The next treble from THJ even gave Dallas the first lead of the evening, which was extended a little later with another 14-0 run (+19).
Doncic got into the zone better and better, also because LA had to respect the shooters again, and thus created even more open throws for the colleagues. Dallas sunk 9/13 threes in the third quarter, collecting more points than the entire first half (51, +30 in that period!) and turning the game completely upside down once. No team has scored more points in a quarter this season.
It was 94:75 in the final section, but the Lakers didn’t want to give up or LeBron. The Lakers star marked 12 straight points for his team, including a 9-0 run. The answer came from Hardaway Jr.’s fingers and through the next open triple after a double team against Doncic. The Slovenian was responsible for the dagger himself a few minutes before the end – fittingly a stepback three-pointer over Schröder, the 13th Mavs three-pointer in the second half.
NBA: Die Stats-Leader bei Mavs vs. Lakers
| Category | Mavericks | Lakers |
| Points | Luka Doncic (32) | LeBron James (38) |
| Rebounds | Luka Doncic (9) | Wenyen Gabriel (7) |
| Assists | Luka Doncic (9) | LeBron James (5) |
| Steals | Christian Wood (4) | Troy Brown Jr. (2) |
| Blocks | Christian Wood (2) | Austin Reaves (2) |
