For nearly two decades, LeBron James has reigned supreme in the NBA, but after Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks defeated the struggling Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, it may be time for James to hand over the crown to the young player he most admires.
The Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers entered Tuesday night’s battle on opposing paths and with diametrically opposed feelings. The Mavericks were coming off a 107-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors, in which they had trailed by 19 points with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Los Angeles Lakers, on the other side, were booed off the court after losing 123-95 to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Not unexpectedly, both teams’ fortunes kept the same as the Mavs defeated the Lakers 109-104 at Crypto.com Arena, however it wasn’t as lopsided as many expected due to the Mavs’ terrible third quarter.
Luka Doncic, who turned 23 the day before, led the Mavs down the stretch with 25 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Although Doncic is most concerned with how the Mavericks finished the game, his thunderous put-back dunk over Dwight Howard in the first quarter should at least take second place.
Luka climbs the ladder for the put-back SLAM!
The @dallasmavs are live on TNT pic.twitter.com/fwxiNjnioZ
— NBA (@NBA) March 2, 2022
Dallas led by as many as 21 points in the first half before exploding in the third quarter, being outscored 31-14. In the first quarter, the Mavs had seven more turnovers (seven) than made field goals (six). However, Doncic’s heroics kept the Lakers at bay in the fourth quarter, as he scored huge shot after big shot, the most of which were against LeBron James.
Against the Lakers, Doncic had a lot of help, as four other players scored in double figures. Jalen Brunson shattered his shooting slump by scoring 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point range. Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Dwight Powell all scored 16 points, 14 points, and 13 points, respectively.