The Dallas Mavericks took down the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night in Dallas, winning 127-125. It’s their fourth consecutive win, and a tough one at that. The Mavericks played just last night in Memphis against the Grizzlies. The Lakers were on a bit of a streak themselves, having just won the In-Season Tournament.
Anthony Davis led all scorers with 37 points, as well as grabbing 11 rebounds. LeBron James put up 33 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists. Austin Reaves chipped in 22 points and eight assists off the bench.
Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 33 points and 17 assists, an eye-whopping line, especially for the second game of a back-to-back. Tim Hardaway Jr. added more fuel to an early Sixth Man of the Year award campaign, scoring 32 points off the bench. Dante Exum scored 26 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
Here are three numbers from the game:
0: The number of losses the Mavericks have when leading at halftime
Dallas can’t lose this season if they lead at half. It’s a completely different team than years past. If the Mavericks grab an early lead, they’re impossible to beat. They’re 10-0 this season when leading at halftime. That perfect number probably won’t stand all season, but the bigger point is that this isn’t a team that coughs up leads easily. And even if they do, they’ve shown the ability to fight back and retake the lead and win the game.
12: The number of combined 3-pointers by Exum and Hardaway
The Mavericks were down Kyrie Irving, Josh Green, and Derrick Jones Jr. to start the game, then lost Seth Curry along the way. It didn’t matter, though, because Exum and Hardaway decided to turn into walking supernovas. The two combined to make 12 combined 3-pointers. That’s just three less than the entire Lakers team. It’s pretty hard to lose when Doncic does his thing and guys like Exum and Hardaway combined for 58 points. It was a stunning shooting display by the two guards, who must’ve been inspired by Luka’s 1,000th career 3-pointer the night before.
87: The number of minutes Doncic has played the past two nights
The Mavericks have needed big minutes from their franchise guard, and he’s delivered both nights. But at some point, he’s going to need some rest. 87 minutes in the span of approximately 24 hours is pretty tough, and uncommon in today’s NBA. But with Irving’s injury, it’s up to Doncic to carry the team until help returns. Keep an eye on that injury report, though, as Thursday’s matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves will be the Mavericks third game in four nights. Doncic might end up sitting. The Timberwolves are one of the top teams in the league this year, so hopefully we get to see Doncic take the court Thursday.
