The Mavericks made sure there was some drama in the end, but won nonetheless.
The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 109-104 in Los Angeles on Tuesday night. The Mavericks looked like they might run out of play in the first half, but the Lakers bounced back in the third quarter and made a game of it.
The Lakers started the game at a slow pace, flipping the ball and making repeated mental mistakes. The Mavericks took advantage, and Luka Doncic turned in some of the highlight plays like this one:
Luka Doncic gets revenge on the rim, Lakers, basketball, earth, everything with this putback dunk pic.twitter.com/KcUyJtUdoG
— Nick Angstadt (@NickVanExit) March 2, 2022
The Mavericks dominated the entire half, reaching 71-56 at halftime. The offense was particularly effective, scoring 41 points in the second quarter alone.
But the Lakers weren't ready to just lay down and give up. He came out with more aggression in the third quarter, and more importantly, he started hitting some 3-pointers. The Lakers went 7-of-12 from deep in the third, while the Mavericks went 1-of-9. They also benefited from six Mavericks turnovers, eventually taking the lead.
Then it was the Mavericks' turn to be more aggressive. Dallas gave up on getting into the paint during the third quarter. But they went back on the hard work of attacking the rim, and the result paid off. They went 7-0 in the middle of the fourth to take the lead back, and they never gave it up.
Luca faced LeBron in the fourth quarter and was successful
It is well known that LeBron is one of the players that Luca has grown up with. His game is also similar to that of LeBron. At the end of the game, Luca and the Mavericks preferred LeBron to switch to Luca over isolation, and it worked. Luca was able to get into the paint against LeBron, breaking the defence. He scored several times and assisted Dwight Powell, who put the game out of reach of the Lakers.
It's only a few buckets, but it's probably something that Luca will remember for a long time. They didn't just beat the Lakers. He defeated the Lakers by winning his matchup against LeBron in clutch minutes. that's huge.
Mavericks dominates Paint
The reason Dallas took the big lead in the first half was because they stayed in the paint:
Impressive first half for the Mavericks, who shoot 55.6% overall. Most of their shots are coming in the restricted area. Dallas leads LA, 71-56. pic.twitter.com/AoZruscsqx
— The Kobe Beef (@TheKobeBeef) March 2, 2022
In the third quarter, he walked away from it, settling for long jumpers and 3-pointers, which he mostly missed. With the Lakers hot shooting from the deep in the third quarter, he gave up the lead.
But in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks came back to do what they did in the first half. The Mavericks went 8-of-11 in the paint in the final quarter, taking only seven shots from outside the lane. The most encouraging sign from this fourth quarter? Dallas took an edge back without catching fire from the back of the arc. The Mavericks only hit a 3-pointer in the fourth. He defeated the Lakers 60-42 in the paint.
Supporting cast advances
The Mavericks have played several games this season where Luca scored 30 or more points, but got nothing from his teammates. It's not uncommon for starters to go deep in one score and 1-of-12 from all scores combined. or securing less than ten marks combined for the bench.
but not tonight. Jalen Brunson went 4-of-6 at 3-pointers and scored 22 points. Spencer Dinwiddie scored 14 points off the bench but, more importantly, provided nine assists. Dorian Finney-Smith shot 3-of-7 from the deep for 16 points, but also grabbed nine rebounds.
Guys filled the box scores all night, and that's a big reason they won. If the Mavericks can get a consistent roster contribution like tonight, they'll be a team that no one wants to face in the playoffs.