In a season that has produced several difficult to stomach losses, the Lakers added another to the ledger in their 119-115 double overtime defeat to the Mavericks on Thursday night.
Trailing by 14 points after the first quarter and as many as 19 points in the first half, the Lakers were able to claw their way back into the game multiple times to never be fully out of it. This was especially true in the 2nd half where, after cutting their deficit down to as few as four points on multiple occasions, the Lakers finally broke through in the 4th quarter to take their first lead since early in the 1st quarter.
Fueled by the Russell Westbrook, whose 28 points (10-23 shooting) led the team, the Lakers got into the paint offensively and did a good job of trapping and rotating defensively to keep the Mavericks from finding their rhythm offensively. Russ was key on that side of the ball as well, using ball denials and getting over screens to turn Luka Doncic more into a passer than a scorer.
Ultimately, though, Luka wouldn’t be held down for long. After prolonged stretch in the 4th quarter in which he did not score, Luka made the biggest shot of the game when he hit a step back three over the top of Dennis Shröder — who had switched onto Doncic after his man set a screen — to force the first overtime.
After the game, Coach Ham took the blame for the Lakers’ defensive coverage on that final play in regulation, noting that in hindsight he should have “blitzed” Luka to take the ball out of his hands or at least push him inside the arc to take a two-point basket. Luka, however, wouldn’t be denied and he deserves credit for knocking that shot down.
Over the course of the two overtimes, the Lakers certainly had their chances to put the Mavs away but couldn’t close them out. In the first OT LeBron had one of his team-high 9 assists to Wenyen Gabriel for a basket and a foul that, after the made free throw, gave the Lakers a one point lead. On the ensuing possession, LeBron then drove to draw a foul, connecting on both free throws to push their lead to three. On the Mavs’ next trip down, however, Luka hit another three pointer that not only tied the game but ultimately forced the 2nd overtime.
And, in the end, that’s really what this game came down to — the Mavericks making the exact play they needed to get them to the next phase of the game and then, ultimately, win. The Lakers, as valiantly as they fought and as many plays as they made, just didn’t have enough.
Whether it was their 10 misses from foul line (17-27 on the night), their struggles from behind the arc (10-41), or even LeBron’s uncharacteristic shooting night in which his 24 points came on 9-28 shooting, the Lakers will have many plays and shots they’d certainly love to have back. And while this team continues to battle and show great competitiveness while shorthanded, that only makes losses like this harder to deal with.
The Lakers will try to get this loss out of their system and get back on the right sight of the scoreboard when they return to action on Sunday vs. the 76ers.
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