The Los Angeles Lakers defeated Dallas Mavericks on the road after overtime last night. It was an exciting game with lots of nice moves, but also with some questionable calls of the referees. The purple and gold posted a 119-110 victory, their fourth in a row.
The hosts were very unhappy with the officials last night, especially young Luka Doncic, who, by the way, had a marvelous performance. He would often talk with the refs and was trying to explain their mistakes in certain situations. However, on each occasion, the reigning Rookie of the Year didn’t get what he wanted.
“I was upset, too, but I’m not going to spend 50 grand to criticize,” Dallas’ coach Rick Carlisle said. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
The Mavs had a chance to win this one, but they were prevented by Danny Green, who made a game-tying three-pointer with the time running out. One of the best downtown shooters in the league was ice-cold once receiving the ball from LeBron James, who previously got all the attention, luring the players to him and leaving Green alone.
LeBron had a triple-double in this one, and was excellent in the OT, when he delivered 9 out of Lakers’ 16 points. In total, he had 39 points, 16 assists and 12 boards, along with 4 steals.
On the other side, Mavs had Luka, who also posted a triple-double. The youngster had 31 points, 15 assists, and 13 boards. It was a pleasure to watch these two guys competing all night long, especially because Doncic always admired LeBron, and he doesn’t hide the fact that James is his idol.
“You never know who you can inspire along your path,” James said on the remark that Luka idolizes him. “For me, playing the game the right way, getting my teammates involved, and playing for the purity of the game, I was able to inspire a kid that wasn’t even in America. That’s pretty special.”
The Mavericks had a 10-point lead in the final period but weren’t able to keep it until the end. They were missing one more player beside Doncic, who would come out and replace the 20-year old in the moments when he didn’t have enough power.
Lakers had Anthony Davis alongside James. The Eyebrow posted 31 points, had 8 boards, and was 15 of 28 from the field. He made the overall difference when looking at how things developed on the floor because once LBJ looked tired, the ball went to AD.
Danny Green had 14 points, Avery Bradey 11.
Kristaps Porzingis failed to show up in this one. Mavs’ big man recorded 16 points, shooting 6 of 16 from the field. Dwight Powell added 14 points, while Tim Hardaway Jr. had 11, and Delon Wright 12, both off the bench.
The Mavs had a huge advantage in the air, as they collected 61 rebounds, compared to only 41 of the guests. Still, they couldn’t get anything positive outside that. They are heading for Cleveland next, to meet with the Cavaliers.
Meanwhile, the Lakers will have a huge test coming up on the same day. LeBron, Davis, and the company are heading for San Antonio to face the Spurs.
