The Los Angeles Lakers overwhelmed the Dallas Mavericks with their offense resulting in a 138-115 victory.
Lakers forward Anthony Davis scored 28 points, center Marc Gasol grabbed nine rebounds and forward LeBron James made 10 assists. Mavericks guard Luka Doncic scored 27 points and seven assists and forward Maxi Kleber made five rebounds.
The Mavericks did not have any second-chance points while the Lakers had 35. Los Angeles also outrebounded Dallas 53-27.
“We have a really good team that’s well balanced that nights if me and [James] don’t have it going, we still can get scoring from four or five, six guys,” Davis said. “We’re continuously trying to find our rhythm, trying to find our chemistry together.”
Although Dallas scored the first shots of the game, the Lakers found shots by moving the ball. Dallas found a 7-3 run to bring them within two points. Davis took a hit to the face that caused him to bleed, but he continued to compete. The Reigning champion Lakers pushed the tempo, scoring 10 Fastbreak points.
Both Dallas and Los Angeles had a strong scoring rhythm, shooting at over 50 percent from the field during the second quarter. Dallas began to force turnovers to cut a 10-point deficit in half. With a strong defense and sturdy offense, the Lakers kept the Mavericks at a distance. Forward Kyle Kuzma hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give the Lakers a 69-57 advantage at the half.
The Lakers held Doncic to 11 points during this time. Scoring second-chance points and making the extra pass were other successful qualities the Lakers had.
“I do think that we did a decent job on the three-point line,” said Lakers head coach Frank Vogel. “This team is capable of making 20-plus threes if you over commit to your helps.”
James and guard Dennis Schroder initiated a four-point run to begin the third phase. The Lakers continued the momentum by driving into the paint. Schroder and forward Montrezl Harrell executed at the free throw line, helping create a 15-point lead for the Lakers.
Schroder’s speed kept the Lakers’ momentum strong, he ended the night with 18 rebounds and six assists.
“I see that I came right over to the lane and put pressure on the rim,” he said.
Ball movement broke down for the Lakers early in the fourth quarter, Shots from center Boban Marjanovic, and guard Josh Richardson brought the Mavericks within 10 points. A steady three-point shot from players extended their lead.
Despite the Lakers losing 19 points to 17 turnovers, the Lakers secured their first home victory of the season. Dallas guard Trey Burke mentioned how the Mavericks did not have the level of fight needed to vanquish the reigning champs.
“We didn’t compete for 48 minutes the way we’re supposed to compete,” he said. “[Our] first three games, we knew it was gonna be a challenge, we knew we was gonna find out a lot about ourselves.”
James ended his 15th Christmas game three rebounds away from a triple-double with 22 points and seven rebounds.
“We’re just moving the bar; I was in a great rhythm, [Harrell] did a great job on offensive rebounding, he also did a great job of being impulsive, making shots.,” James said. “I felt Davis was more aggressive tonight, going into these pick and rolls at times, he snuck behind and made them.”
The Lakers will host the Minnesota Timberwolves on the 12/27 at 7:00P.M.
