Sensational!
The German national basketball player Maximilian Kleber (31) gave his Dallas Mavericks an important victory. The Mavs defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 111-110 thanks to a last-second goal. Never before in his career had he managed such a throw. And: With three converted free throws, he had already reduced the gap from four points to one seven seconds before the end.
No sooner had the final siren sounded than Kleber’s teammates stormed onto the floor. Literally tear him to the ground. Kleber overjoyed after the buzzer beater and the game: “I’ve never had such a game winner. It feels great. I have to look at that again myself.”
It looked like a defeat for the Mavs just before the end. With the score at 108:110 and hardly any remaining playing time, Kyrie Irving had the ball in his hands. All hopes rested on the superstar to turn the game around on the last attack. But that didn’t work.
“I saw Kyrie being marked by two players and looked at the shot clock. There were still a good 2.5 seconds left,” Kleber said later: “He couldn’t take a shot. When he passed me, I knew that I just had to finish quickly.” Kleber pocketed his three from a good eight yards out.
Kleber said about the joy in the dressing room: “You get a water shower. It was extremely cold.”
Schröder cannot prevent Lakers defeat
National team captain Dennis Schröder (29) recorded 15 points for the Lakers and made a strong game, but in the end could not prevent the defeat that could have serious consequences.
The win puts the Mavericks level with the Golden State Warriors in the fight for a direct ticket to the playoffs. They had previously lost to the Atlanta Hawks 119:127 – 31 points from Steph Curry were not enough for the defending champion.
The Lakers, on the other hand, have to worry. Because the Minnesota Timberwolves also lost 131-139 to the Chicago Bulls after two overtimes, the situation for the Lakers before the game was ideal for a big step towards sixth place in the Western Conference. Due to their own defeat, the team slipped behind the Oklahoma City Thunder in tenth place and has to worry about participating in the play-in itself.
