LOS ANGELES — Having Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving on a team does not make it immune to cold spells. That became obvious in the fourth quarter Wednesday night in Los Angeles, the Mavericks entered the fourth quarter with a 20-point lead over the Lakers and seemed in total control.
Then the Lakers started playing better, more desperate defense and the Mavericks went cold, missing their first 11 shots of the fourth. The Lakers came all the way back to take a two-point lead with 1:16 left on a LeBron James layup.
What having Doncic and Irving on your team does is make it clutch — the Mavericks are now a league-best 7-1 in close games (within five points in the final five minutes) after Doncic found Irving for a 3-pointer with :21.6 seconds left that put the Mavericks up for good.
KYRIE TAKES THE LEAD RIGHT BACK 🗣️
— NBA (@NBA) November 23, 2023
THIS GAME LATE IN Q4 🍿
Mavs-Lakers | Live on the NBA App
📲 https://t.co/TaxCZgZFyg pic.twitter.com/gl3d6kYUlh
“I didn’t know he was going to be open so I was surprised,” Doncic said.
Austin Reaves cheated down off Irving toward Doncic’s drive, but that play — nor LeBron’s late turnover or missed corner 3 at the buzzer — cost the Lakers this game. They lost it in the first three quarters when Dallas was sharp and Los Angeles looked like a team playing their third game in four nights.
Doncic also had a candidate for pass of the year with this nutmeg of LeBron to the corner for an open 3.
Luka made this pass THROUGH LeBron's legs 😳 pic.twitter.com/u2MCnYWrYX
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 23, 2023
Doncic finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, while Irving added 28 points. LeBron led the Lakers with 26, while Reaves scored 17 off the bench.
The scary news for Dallas was impressive rookie center Dereck Lively had to leave the game after a nasty fall under the basket and did not return with what the team called a lower back contusion. Lively left the building under his own power but was walking very gingerly. The Mavericks are off again until Saturday when they face the Clippers in the same building.
