LOS ANGELES — In a stark throwback to last season, the Lakers fought back from a 27-point deficit to beat the Dallas Mavericks by three in February.
On Wednesday, the Lakers almost came back from 20-plus points down again, but for the Lakers, the painful key word was, of course, “almost.”
what you need to know
- LeBron James missed a three-pointer from the left corner and Dallas won 104-101 at Crypto.com Arena.
- Lakers trailed by 20 entering the fourth quarter but rallied with the influx of James and Austin Reeves
- Luka Doncic (30 points) and Kyrie Irving (28 points) combined to outscore the Mavericks by more than half
- Maybe James said it best: “Got to be better in the first 36 games”
LeBron James missed a 3-pointer from the left corner and Dallas won 104-101 at Crypto.com Arena.
The Lakers trailed by 20 points entering the fourth quarter, but rallied behind heavy offense from James and Austin Reeves.
James scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, including a tip-in on Reeves’ missed shot, giving the Lakers an incredible 101-99 lead with 1:16 left.
“Obviously, I loved the fourth quarter. I just hated being in that situation where we were in trouble,” James said. “It’s not ideal.”
But James couldn’t convert in the next three games.
He decided to take a three-point shot, but missed it with much smaller former teammate Kyrie Irving guarding him.
Irving hit a three-pointer on the other end to put pressure on the Lakers, who trailed by one with 20.8 seconds left.
James tried to pass the ball to Anthony Davis, but Richaun Holmes in front of Davis moved the ball behind Davis with 3.2 remaining. Steal the ball in seconds.
“Keep it short,” James said before using a football metaphor. “Read right, just, as the quarterback, keep it short. “I didn’t lead my receivers and I got picked off. “
The Lakers (9-7) still had a chance to tie the game after Irving made two free throws to give Dallas a three-point lead. However, James’ buzzer-beating three-pointer deflected to the left and failed to hit.
“We had a chance to win the game,” Davis said. “We found our way back in the fourth quarter defensively and made some great shots.”
There weren’t enough big shots in the first three quarters.
The Lakers’ fast start to an easy win over the Utah Jazz the night before didn’t materialize again on Wednesday as they trailed 62-46 at halftime.
Things got worse from there, with the Lakers trailing 91-71 after three quarters.
Then something interesting happened. Dallas missed its first 11 shots in the fourth quarter.
With 4 minutes and 16 seconds left in the game, Doncic made a fadeaway jumper from 5 feet away. The Mavericks finally made a goal and Dallas led by 5 points.
Doncic (30 points) and Irving (28 points) combined to outscore the Mavericks by more than half.
Through three quarters, Dallas (10-5) proved they have the second-best offense in the NBA. But the Lakers couldn’t do the same until it was too late to penetrate the Mavericks’ 25th-ranked defense.
“It’s tough,” Lakers coach Davon Hamm said. “To put ourselves behind the eight ball through the first three quarters, we could have easily folded the tent, especially after playing the game the night before. But, like I told my guys, we don’t believe there’s ethics here. victory.”
Davis was quiet all night, scoring just 10 points in 36 minutes. He had just one shot in the fourth quarter, missing a 20-footer with 7:19 left.
Reeves was also quiet until scoring nine points in the fourth quarter and finishing with 17 points.
Perhaps James said it best: “Got to be better in the first 36 games.”