The Los Angeles Lakers returned to the grind of the regular season on Tuesday three days after winning the first NBA in-season tournament over the Indiana Pacers. Throughout the tourney, the Lakers played with impressive intensity, especially on the defensive end, where they have been strong the past month or so.
They headed into Texas looking to continue that momentum against the Dallas Mavericks, who were 14-8 and in third place in the Western Conference entering Tuesday.
The Lakers fell behind by double-digits in the second quarter when Dallas got hot from 3-point range, and they hurt themselves by committing 10 first-half turnovers, leading to a 71-61 deficit at the break. They finally found their defensive prowess in the third quarter, outscoring Dallas, 34-22, and taking a 95-93 lead at the end of the period.
But the Mavs sliced and diced L.A.’s defense down the stretch, resulting in a 127-125 loss for LeBron James and company.
Los Angeles’ deficiencies in 3-point shooting were on display. It entered the game next-to-last in 3-point attempts per game, and it went 15-of-29 from downtown. That gave the Lakers better accuracy from that distance than the Mavs, but the Mavs were 21-of-43 from beyond the arc, giving them an extra 18 points on made 3-pointers. L.A.’s inability to help and recover on Luka Doncic, who had 17 assists, was a big reason for the Mavs’ large number of 3-point attempts and makes.
In particular, Dante Exum, a former lottery pick who played overseas the last two seasons, killed the Lakers by going 7-of-9 from downtown. Five of his treys came in the fourth quarter. His 3 with just under a minute left put the Lakers down by six and pretty much ended their comeback hopes.
The Lakers (14-10) head southwest to face Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday and Friday.
Anthony Davis: A
Davis followed his 41-point, 20-rebound, five-assist, four-block masterpiece on Saturday with another dominant outing against Dallas. He had a big first half with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting. The Lakers did a good job of getting him the ball on the move in the paint, especially off dribble penetration. He wasn’t 100% health-wise and was clearly in discomfort at times, but he hung in there, and he played hard, as he usually does.
He ended up scoring 37 points on 15-of-21 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds and two rejections. He hit a rare 3-pointer, which was only his fourth this season, to give the Lakers a lead just before the end of the third quarter.
The one thing Davis didn’t do well was score from the charity stripe. He went 6-of-10 from the free-throw line.
Taurean Prince: A
Prince has been getting hot lately from 3-point range, and the Lakers have desperately needed him to. He tossed in five treys on six attempts on Tuesday, giving him 15 points plus four rebounds and four assists.
He’s shooting 38.6% from downtown on the season, which puts him within striking distance of achieving his goal of hitting 40% from that distance.
Cam Reddish: B-minus/B
Reddish drew the assignment of guarding Doncic, and with Jarred Vanderbilt unable to play, Reddish had to step up. With his help, the Lakers contained Doncic’s scoring — although the Slovenian native scored 31 points, he shot just 12-of-28 from the field and committed four turnovers.
Offensively, Reddish contributed four points on 2-of-4 shooting, and he added three rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot in 22 minutes.
D'Angelo Russell: C-minus
The Lakers needed more from Russell offensively. While he dished seven assists against two turnovers, he shot 3-of-9 overall and 1-of-4 from deep, giving him just seven points in 25 minutes.
He didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter, likely because of his offensive struggles.
LeBron James: A
James started slowly, going 4-of-10 in the first half. But he heated up afterward, and he finished with 33 points on 14-of-27 from the field and 3-of-8 from downtown. He started attacking the basket more in the third quarter, especially in transition, and that was a big reason L.A. got back into the game after trailing by as many as 15 points.
The 38-year-old also tallied nine assists, eight rebounds and three steals. He played 40 minutes, and after the game, when asked whether he would play on Wednesday in San Antonio, he said he would see how he would feel in the hours before the game.
Austin Reaves: A
Reaves has been playing well over the last couple of weeks after being inconsistent in October and November. On Tuesday, he scored 22 points on 7-of-14 field-goal shooting and 4-of-7 from 3-point land while also notching eight assists and five rebounds in 32 minutes.
His step-back 3-pointer with 1:16 left in the fourth quarter kept the Lakers in the game by bringing them to within three points. He has clearly become someone who is not afraid to take big shots and will make a good number of them.
Rui Hachimura: C
Like Russell, Hachimura had a lackluster offensive game against Dallas. He made just three of his nine shot attempts, and he finished with seven points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal in 29 minutes.
Jaxson Hayes: B
Hayes showed good activity on the offensive boards, but he picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter after just two minutes of play. He still managed to pick up four rebounds and an assist in 13 minutes, and he helped L.A. outrebound the Mavs by four.
Max Christie: Incomplete
The second-year wing played six minutes, and his only contribution was one assist.
