THE Los Angeles Lakers got here off a 119-115 loss to the Houston Rockets who have been trying to reignite the momentum that they had constructed, and it appeared like they got a present. They confronted the Dallas Maverickswho have been with out Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving on Tuesday in Texas, and it regarded like it could be a possible win for them.
As an alternative, they turned in one among their worst performances of the season.
The Lakers sputtered a bit within the first half, particularly offensively, however they managed to take a 50-44 lead on the finish of the second quarter. Nonetheless, Klay Thompson made three 3-pointers within the closing 2:43 of the interval to assist Dallas take a 55-50 lead into halftime.
From there, issues solely obtained worse. Los Angeles constantly gave up good 3-point appears to be like, particularly throughout dribble penetration, which allowed the Mavs to steadily enhance their lead all through the second half. They outscored LA 63-47 within the second half, and LeBron James’ group by no means put collectively any kind of rally to make issues extra aggressive.
The Lakers misplaced 118-97 and fell to a 20-16 document this season. Dallas outshot them by 11 and turned 11 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance factors, and so they additionally made 18 of 38 from 3-point vary whereas the Lakers may solely make 11 of 35 from that distance. Former Laker Spencer Dinwiddie harm his former group with 19 factors and eight assists, whereas Quentin Grimes got here off the bench to attain 23 factors in 29 minutes.
The Lakers slipped behind Dallas within the standings and fell to sixth place within the Western Convention. Happily, every of their subsequent 5 video games and 7 of their subsequent eight will happen at Crypto.com Area, and their solely highway sport throughout that span will probably be on the Intuit Dome towards the Los Angeles Clippers.
Anthony Davis: C+
Except a interval within the third quarter the place he attacked properly off the dribble, Davis by no means actually obtained his offensive sport going. He shot simply 7 of 18 from the sector and was held to 21 factors as Dallas’ large males made him work for his photographs and factors whereas doing a superb job contesting his photographs close to the basket .
He helped the Lakers’ trigger with 12 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Rui Hachimura: D
As he does periodically, Hachimura went invisible on Tuesday. He took simply 5 photographs and made three, and he had only one rebound in 26 minutes. The Lakers sorely wanted much more offense and total aggressiveness from him.
Max Christie: B-minus/B
Christie made simply one among his 4 3-point makes an attempt, however total he was 5 of 9 from the sector, incomes him 12 factors. He additionally contributed three assists, a rebound, a steal and a block, and usually, he continues to be a dependable further contributor on offense.
Austin Reaves: C
Reaves shot simply 5 of 14 from the sector and had only a few makes an attempt contained in the paint. He solely had one help, though he had three steals.
LeBron James: C-plus/B-minus
James was not very assertive offensively on this match. He solely took 12 photographs and made half of them, and though he had 10 rebounds and eight assists, he solely scored 18 factors. It could have helped Los Angeles if James had been extra aggressive within the third quarter.
Dorian Finney-Smith: One
Finney-Smith heated up from the skin and made three of his 4 3-point makes an attempt whereas scoring 11 factors in 28 minutes. At one level late within the third quarter, he disrupted a fast Mavericks four-on-one counterattack and reminded people who he was the distinction on the defensive finish, and he additionally contributed three rebounds .
Dalton Knecht: B+
Knecht heated up late within the sport and scored 10 of his 13 factors within the fourth quarter. He went 5 of 8 from the sector and a couple of of 5 from downtown and added a blocked shot. Nonetheless, he did not have a single rebound and his protection is clearly problematic.
Gabe Vincent: D
In his return after lacking the Lakers’ earlier 4 video games, Vincent contributed virtually nothing on Tuesday. He missed all 4 of his shot makes an attempt, together with three 3-pointers, and had only one rebound and two assists in 24 minutes.
Jaxson Hayes: B-minus
At occasions. Hayes confirmed good power and energy, particularly on the defensive finish of the sector. Nonetheless, he dedicated 4 fouls in lower than 4 minutes after coming into the sport to start out the second quarter. He ended up enjoying 12 minutes and had three rebounds, two blocks, a degree, an help and a steal.
Bronny James: incomplete
The rookie guard entered the sport for a minute in rubbish time and made no contributions on the stat sheet.
This text was initially revealed on LeBron Wire: Lakers Participant Scores: LA Suffers Inexcusable Loss to Mavericks
