The Los Angeles Lakers continued their long road trip tonight against the Dallas Mavericks, with Luka Doncic returning to his former team’s arena for the second time. Jason Kidd’s team, meanwhile, is slowly finding its footing, winning three of its last four games and slowly making a push for a play-in tournament spot in the West. However, tonight, the Lakers came out on top 116-110, as the Slovenian improved his record against the Mavericks to 4-0.
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Los Angeles Lakers vs Dallas Mavericks player stats and box score
Los Angeles Lakers
| PLAYER | MIN | PTS | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | TO | STL | BLK | PF | +/- |
| STARTERS | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| LeBron James#23 | 37 | 17 | 8-16 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -8 |
| Jake LaRavia#12 | 30 | 13 | 4-8 | 2-6 | 3-4 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | +12 |
| Deandre Ayton#5 | 24 | 9 | 4-16 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -12 |
| Marcus Smart#36 | 32 | 13 | 4-10 | 2-4 | 3-5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | -2 |
| Luka Doncic#77 | 39 | 33 | 8-15 | 3-8 | 14-15 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +18 |
| BENCH | MIN | PTS | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | TO | STL | BLK | PF | +/- |
| Gabe Vincent#7 | 15 | 0 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | +8 |
| Jaxson Hayes#11 | 15 | 6 | 3-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | +1 |
| Rui Hachimura#28 | 27 | 17 | 6-13 | 4-7 | 1-1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +21 |
| Jarred Vanderbilt#2 | 12 | 8 | 3-6 | 2-3 | 0-2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -4 |
| Drew Timme#17 | 8 | 0 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -4 |
| Maxi Kleber#14 | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bronny James#9 | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Dalton Knecht#4 | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| TEAM TOTAL | – | 116 | 40-90 (44%) | 14-34 (41%) | 22-29 (76%) | 57 | 26 | 14 | 7 | 8 | 20 | – |
Dallas Mavericks
| PLAYER | MIN | PTS | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | TO | STL | BLK | PF | +/- |
| STARTERS | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cooper Flagg#32 | 34 | 16 | 7-20 | 1-5 | 1-2 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | -4 |
| Caleb Martin#16 | 24 | 17 | 6-10 | 3-4 | 2-2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | +14 |
| Dwight Powell#7 | 24 | 0 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | +13 |
| Max Christie #00 | 35 | 24 | 8-18 | 4-10 | 4-4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -9 |
| Naji Marshall#13 | 37 | 21 | 7-15 | 0-3 | 7-10 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -8 |
| BENCH | MIN | PTS | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | TO | STL | BLK | PF | +/- |
| Brandon Williams#10 | 23 | 20 | 8-17 | 0-1 | 4-5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -24 |
| Daniel Gafford#21 | 16 | 2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -5 |
| PJ Washington #25 | 25 | 2 | 1-5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -9 |
| Jeremiah Robinson-Earl#23 | 3 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 |
| Klay Thompson#31 | 14 | 6 | 2-5 | 2-5 | 0-2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | +5 |
| Ryan Nembhard#9 | 4 | 2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jaden Hardy#1 | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Miles Kelly#14 | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| D’Angelo Russell#5 | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| TEAM TOTAL | – | 110 | 39-94 (41%) | 10-29 (34%) | 22-29 (76%) | 43 | 22 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 19 | – |
Lakers vs Mavericks: Game summary and key moments
The Lakers looked in control early, courtesy of a strong first half and efficient shooting, with solid contributions from LeBron James, interior scoring from Deandre Ayton, and Rui Hachimura sparking offense off the bench. They shot well from deep and carried a 13-point advantage into halftime.
However, everything fell apart in the third.
The Lakers went ice-cold, shooting a horrid 31.6% from the floor in the period while the Mavericks quickly seized momentum, mounting a 35-14 quarter. The hosts continued their run into the fourth, starting the quarter with a 6-0 run, during which Naji Marshall, Brandon Williams, and Max Christie all punished defensive lapses, and the Lakers quickly found themselves down by 14 points.
Flagg cuts to the cup for the lead ‼️ Dallas is on a 16-0 run!
However, the Lakers responded immediately. Marcus Smart’s defense, James’ downhill aggression, and Hachimura’s shot-making flipped the game. The Japanese forward drilled back-to-back threes, as well as a four-point play, to swing the lead, with Smart and James scoring at the rim to help create separation.
Doncic drew a charge on Cooper Flagg, capping off a stunning 27-9 Lakers run to steal the win.
Who are the top performers who stood out?
Luka Doncic stood out as usual, dropping 33 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds, while shooting well. He drew a game-high 15 free throws, converting 14 of them. This one was just the latest in a season filled with dazzling stat lines, and it led his team to the win.
For the Mavericks, both Brandon Williams and Max Christie performed very well, combining for 44 points on solid efficiency, helping a team struggling with consistent guard play without Kyrie Irving.
Rui Hachimura also played well, helping fuel the Lakers’ comeback while logging several key plays, adding 17 points and eight rebounds off the bench while closing the game.
Who underperformed tonight?
Deandre Ayton severely underperformed tonight, going just 4 of 16 from the field for nine points, while also adding four fouls. His underperformance was so poor that JJ Redick benched him while closing, opting out of center play entirely.
Unfortunately for the Mavericks, rookie No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg seemed to be completely neutralized by the Lakers’ usually poor defense. The forward scored 16 points while showing decent playmaking and defense, but his efficiency was especially poor, making just 7 of 20 shots.