The Dallas Mavericks fell to 5-15 Friday night after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers on the road, 129-119. Dallas falls to 1-3 in Group Play for the NBA Cup as well. Austin Reaves led the Lakers with 38 points 0n a red-hot 12 of 15 from the floor. Former Maverick Luka Doncic scored a mere 35 points to support Reaves. PJ Washington led Dallas in defeat with 22 points.
The game opened with early fireworks; Dallas doubled Doncic off the tip, leading to an open three, then again on a pick-and-roll, resulting in a Doncic-to-LeBron James dunk. The Mavericks settled in on offense, with PJ Washington dunking a sweet dish from Davis following a cut to the hoop and Max Christie hitting a corner three. After fast starts, both teams settled into their usual tendencies: Luka pressing the issue for Los Angeles and Dallas struggling to get easy looks on offense while turning the ball over as a matter of course. Doncic picked up a technical foul during a timeout and Dallas tied the game then took a 19-17 lead with 2:49 to go in the period. Los Angeles closed out the quarter with three made three pointers and a Luka layup to end with a 28-22 lead.
Dallas got the Lakers into foul trouble early in the second, attacking the glass on both ends and drawing whistles. With Doncic on the bench, the Mavericks pressed the issue to retake the lead. The best play involved Cooper Flagg pushing following a rebound and hitting Davis with a ball reversal leading to a Davis dunk. The offense reigned in the quarter, with Dallas scoring 40 with relative ease. The Mavericks took a 62-60 lead into the half.
Things got physical in the third, with the Mavericks trying to punish the Lakers inside and growing their lead to as many as seven points. The Lakers rallied quickly, responding with a 14-4 run that forced a Dallas timeout. It seemed like the Lakers were poised to run away with the game, hitting threes and lulling the Mavericks into a shootout. With the Lakers up nine, Flagg led a run to put Dallas right back in it, forcing a Laker timeout up 93-90. Doncic stomped the Dallas run with a three and a long assist to LeBron to put LA back up 98-90. Two second-chance buckets to end the half put the Mavericks right back in it; Dallas trailed entering the fourth, 98-94.
The final frame opened with neither team relenting. Made threes, tough second chance baskets, and and-ones kept this game tense for the opening minutes. Dallas got inside for good looks with the Lakers continuing to hit threes and get to the line. A Hachimura three gave the Lakers a 117-110 lead with 5:54 remaining. The lead grew for the Lakers, finally eclipsing double digits and the Mavericks weren’t able to mount a comeback. Dallas fell 129-119.
It’s best to get this element over with quickly, so we can hash out the other interesting parts of this game. By now, it should be clear to anyone with a brain that former General Manager Nico Harrison did not value offensive playmaking, particularly guys who could create off the dribble. He thought the bare minimum would work if a team had great defenders.
Well, before this game, Dallas was second in defensive rating and dead last in offensive rating. With Anthony Davis returning, Ryan Nembhard getting the start, and the Dallas offense really humming for the first time in a while, we got to see first half that the Lakers’ superior offensive playmaking won out over the solid Dallas defense. Dallas played **really well** for huge swaths of this game, but it wasn’t enough because their offense is regularly capable of dying on the vine. The Lakers’ defense stank for stretches, but exploded on offense just enough to overtake those issues. Doncic and Reaves combined for 22-33 from the field and 19-20 from the line for 73 points. Defense might win championships but offense wins games.
There’s nothing to be done about it now, but as Dallas rebuilds for the future, keep this in mind. Until (or if) the rules change to allow way more physicality, good offense trumps good defense every time.
The more svelte looking Anthony Davis impressed me upon return from his calf strain. I am… an Anthony Davis skeptic. I grow weary of how good a player he apparently is when I’ve not seen that in a meaningful way for the Mavericks. But I want him to be good and I thought against the Lakers, he played well and within himself. His stat line might not be much to write home about, but I felt his impact in limited minutes. Dallas used him at the five almost exclusively, which is good because that’s what he is. His offensive operation around the free throw line, posting up, passing, trying to finish in traffic, was fun to watch. Defensively, he showed great timing and physicality.
How often can he give Dallas this kind of effort? If he can avoid any other injuries, teams will be calling the Mavericks soon enough.
I’ve run into a bizarre set of fans lately who so value on ball creation (and heliocentric playstyles) that they want to knock rookie Cooper Flagg for what he isn’t rather than discuss what he is. You just read how I talked about on-ball creation. Flagg is not ever going to be a Doncic-like guy on offense, but let’s be honest, there are maybe three players on Earth who are.
Instead, I want to talk about what he is right now, and that’s one of the smartest and most well rounded players for his age we will ever see. 13 points, seven rebounds, 11 (!!!) assists, three steals, and just a single turnover. He guarded every Laker scorer at one point or another and held his own. Yes he was scored on, but again, good offense beats good defense.
I want you to imagine this guy in three years. He’s a basketball supercomputer; he processes what guys are doing on both sides of the ball and exploits the weakness. What’s he going to be like when he’s stronger? Or with more confidence in his three-point shot? I’m over the moon for Flagg. He’s worth the price of admission. And if you; ‘re somehow disappointed in him, then you really don’t understand basketball and what he brings.
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* [Mavericks Game Coverage](/dallas-mavericks-game-coverage)
* [Mavericks Scores](/mavericks-scores-results)