Top Takeaways from Luka Doncic, Mavs vs. LeBron James, Lakers

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Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

The wheels are falling off for the Los Angeles Lakers, who lost for the 10th time in their past 13 games on Tuesday night. 

Luka Doncic led the Dallas Mavericks to a 109-104 victory in Los Angeles. The three-time All-Star finished with a team-high 25 points and eight rebounds in the win. Jalen Brunson, who scored 16 points in the previous two games combined, dropped 22 and went 4-of-6 from three-point range. 

The Mavs did take their foot off the gas pedal after opening up a 21-point lead late in the second quarter. The Lakers went on a 49-26 run over the final four minutes of the second quarter and entire third quarter to take an 87-85 lead. 

Los Angeles ran out of steam down the stretch with just 17 points in the fourth quarter. Dwight Powell’s dunk with 5:08 remaining put the Mavs back on top for good. 

LeBron James finished with a game-high 26 points (10-of-18 from the field) and 12 rebounds. He was scoreless for an eight-minute, 36-second stretch in the fourth quarter until a dunk with 13.3 seconds left when the Mavs were up by seven points.

Russell Westbrook had just 12 points on 5-of-17 shooting. He had eight assists without a turnover in 38 minutes.  

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Adam Pantozzi/Getty Images

The Mavericks’ decision to move on from Kristaps Porzingis at the trade deadline on Feb. 10 wasn’t met with widespread acclaim. They sent the underachieving, oft-injured center and a second-round draft pick to the Washington Wizards for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans. 

Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale gave the Mavs a D in his grading of the deal. He wrote that he was “struggling to see the vision here” for the team. 

It’s understandable, since they could have just signed Dinwiddie as a free agent last offseason without giving Tim Hardaway Jr. a four-year, $72 million extension that now looks like a massive overpay. Hardaway is shooting 39.4 percent overall (33.6 percent from behind the arc). 

Since the trade, though, Dallas has won five of seven games. Three of those wins are against the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors. The offense is averaging 109.4 points per game during this stretch. 

Dinwiddie is on a hot streak playing for the Mavs. The 28-year-old is averaging 14.0 points per game and is shooting 59.6 percent from the field (44.4 percent behind the arc) in five games with Dallas. He had 14 points and nine assists in 24 minutes off the bench against the Lakers. 

Doncic has been playing at an MVP level for the past six weeks. He is averaging 32.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 8.8 assists per game and is shooting 39.0 percent from three on 8.8 attempts per game in 18 starts since Jan. 19. 

Dallas ranks in the top 10 in defensive rating (107.7) and net rating (plus-3.57), per Basketball Reference. 

If Doncic continues to play at an elite level, with Brunson and Dinwiddie being excellent complementary pieces, the Mavericks can be a problem in the playoffs. The fifth-place team in the Western Conference are in line to play the Utah Jazz in the first round. 

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Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Any Lakers fans clinging to hope that this team will avoid the play-in tournament and make the playoffs outright can let go. Their recent streak of bad play has dropped them nine games behind the Denver Nuggets for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference with 21 games remaining. 

Ninth-place Los Angeles is closer to falling out of the play-in tournament (two games ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers and the New Orleans Pelicans, who are tied for 11th) altogether than catching the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 8 seed (4.5 games behind). 

James tried to put on a brave face while speaking to reporters after losing to the Mavs. 

“We still have games to play,” he said. “Until you stomp me out, cut my head off, bury me 12 feet under, then I got a chance. So that’s my confidence.”

It was apparent as the Mavs were opening up their big lead in the second quarter that James was frustrated. He was battling Dorian Finney-Smith for position in the post and had an opening for an easy bucket, but Malik Monk missed a three-pointer. James just stood in the paint for a few seconds without trying to fight for the rebound. 

James is right about the Lakers still having games to play, but that could be bad news for the team. They have the second-hardest remaining strength of schedule in the NBA, per Tankathon. This stretch includes two games each against the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors and Nuggets. 

By comparison, the three teams behind the Lakers in the race for the play-in tournament (Trail Blazers, Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs) all have a top-11 easiest schedule. The Blazers have the easiest remaining strength of schedule in the league (.441 opponent winning percentage). 

The one hope Los Angeles had for a potential turnaround is Anthony Davis’ return, but things look grim on that front. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Feb. 25 that Davis was expected to miss another 4-5 weeks with a foot sprain.