While it wasn’t their prettiest game of the season, the Lakers used incredible nights from Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić to outduel the Mavericks, 129-119.
The Lakers gave up a 40-point second quarter, trailed at halftime and didn’t lead by double digits until late in the fourth, but pulled out the win all the same.
With the win, the Lakers clinch a home game in the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup while remaining undefeated in the competition.
Dallas opened the game by doubling Luka off the tip, which directly led to an open Reaves 3-pointer just seconds into the game. The next possession of the game saw Luka find LeBron for an alley-oop, a fun start to the game for the purple and gold.
The Mavs eventually responded with five straight to tie the game, but the Lakers would force a timeout with a dunk for Deandre Ayton followed by a steal and dunk for Reaves.
The teams not only traded the lead, but essentially were matching plays, the Mavs scoring on an Anthony Davis lob before the Lakers responded with an Ayton lob. It was the hosts, though, that created a bit of separation to hold a small lead throughout most the period.
Luka closed the quarter in style, drilling a 3-pointer over Klay Thompson’s contest to put the Lakers up 28-22 heading into the second.
Thompson tried to pull the Mavs back into the game with some 3-pointers in the second, but Reaves scored or assisted on the first nine points of the period for LA to keep them ahead.
A back cut by PJ Washington and a driving dunk from AD eventually cut the margin to one point, forcing a timeout from the hosts. The break did little to slow down the Mavs’ momentum as a Washington 3-pointer not long after tied the game at 41 apiece.
Dallas, though, would keep their foot on the gas, going on an 11-4 run to take the lead at 52-49. Led by Luka, the Lakers finally put together their own run to retake the lead before a Flagg 3-pointer pushed the visitors back ahead.
A putback dunk from AD and a corner 3-pointer from Max Christie not only stung to see as former Lakers, but put the Mavs right back ahead 62-58. A 3-pointer from Reaves and a pair of Luka free throws kept LA within reach, but Dallas poured in 40 points in the period to lead by two at the break.
The Mavs opened the second half with the first five points to grow their lead to the largest of the night at 67-60. Luka settled things down with a layup and a 3-pointer but LA struggled to get defensive stops early as they stayed at six points.
The Lakers eventually caught fire from three as two makes from Reaves, two from Rui and one from LeBron positioned the Lakers back ahead, 82-77. Reaves and Luka led the charge as the Lakers created separation before an Ayton tip-in made it an 89-80 lead.
Unsurprisingly, the Mavs had another run that included threes from Naji Marshall and Thompson to pull back within three late in the third. Out of a timeout following the Dallas run, Luka hit a three and then found LeBron for a fastbreak layup to re-establish an eight-point lead.
A putback layup from Daniel Gafford and a buzzer-beating jumper from Naji Marshall dampened things a bit heading into the fourth as it closed LA’s lead to four.
Lebron got his 10th point of the game on a free throw to open the fourth. After trading some baskets, Rui connected on his third three of the game to make it a six-point lead. A dazzling bucket from Reaves gave him 35 points, but an AD block of Ayton led to a Ryan Nembhard three to make it a one-point game again.
Luka missed a jumper out of the break and AD connected on a mid-range basket to put Dallas back ahead. Reaves, though, continued his incredible night, getting a runner to fall around Klay before drawing a foul and splitting the freebies to make it a four-point lead again.
Rui’s fourth three made it a seven-point lead and forced a Dallas timeout. Ayton’s layup and a pair of Luka free throws made it a double-digit lead for the first time in the half.
From there, the Lakers iced away the game at the line and held the Mavs at bay for the final minutes to secure home court advantage in the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup.
Reaves had a huge night for the Lakers, pouring in 38 points on 12-15 shooting. Luka was not far behind, tallying 35 points on 10-18 shooting with 11 assists. LeBron had a pretty quiet night, scoring just 13 points with seven assists and five rebounds.
Ayton battled in the paint to finish with 17 points and eight rebounds. Hachimura hit four threes to finish with 14 points. Jaxson Hayes and Gabe Vincent each had six points off the bench.
The Lakers will next be in action on Sunday when they host the Pelicans at 6:30 p.m. PT.
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