The Los Angeles Lakers took down the Dallas Mavericks at home with a final score of 124-104, despite not having Luka Dončić.
Although Dončić didn’t get to directly feed into the storyline of revenge and the Mavericks making a mistake, the rest of the team took up the fight to put the Mavericks away.
Forward LeBron James stole the show dropping a triple double in 35 minutes with 28 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists, and one block. In doing so James has become the oldest player in NBA history to record a triple double previously held by Karl Malone.
James was also the spark plug in this game, energizing the team with 14 points in the first quarter. Although the Lakers had a 64-51 point lead with 3:01 left in the half, the Mavericks rallied and ended the quarter on a 11-0 run by Naji Marshall who dropped 7 points and one assist in the three minute stretch. Marshall ended the game with 19 points, four assists and two rebounds and steals.
The game remained close up until the 4:51 in the third quarter when Jared Vanderbilt’s 3-pointer led to the beginning of the end as the Lakers lead ballooned 14 at a score of 96-82 and never got close again throughout the 4th resulting in the Lakers win.
Other than James, the Lakers’ depth continued to shine with forward Rui Hachimura and guard Austin Reaves getting it done for the Lakers with Dončić out. Hachimura notched 21 points, with three rebounds and one assist and a steal with Reaves getting 18 points, four rebounds, and six assists.
For the Mavericks, Christie and Marshall have continued to carry the load with Flagg out and as the Mavericks fall to a nine game losing streak; the largest in the last 23 seasons for the franchise.
The Lakers will look to keep the momentum going after the Allstar break when they take on the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, Feb. 20 at home.