Luka Doncic continued his MVP-calibre form, leading the Dallas Mavericks to an impressive win over the Los Angeles Lakers on the road, bringing their 10-game win streak to an end.
The 20-year-old scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half, including 16 in the third quarter as the Mavs cruised to a 114-100 win, moving to a 7-2 record on the road this season.
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After trailing 62-59 at the half, the Mavs blew the game open in the third, going on a 28-5 run, leading by as many as 20 points in the period.
Luka Doncic drops 16 3rd quarter PTS for the @dallasmavs on League Pass! #MFFL pic.twitter.com/WmenDd55M4
— NBA (@NBA) December 1, 2019
While their offence was humming, the Mavs stifled the Lakers on the defensive end, holding them to just 17 points in the third, their lowest score in a quarter this season, much to the delight of head coach Rick Carlisle.
“That was a very intense game from the very beginning,” Carlisle said post-game. “I thought that we made good adjustments as a team. The guys on the floor made good adjustments as a team as the game went along with ball movement, finding space, finding each other.
“In the second half, we played one of our best defensive halfs against a team that’s got the best record in the league. So, we did good things and stuck together and it’s a really good win for us.”
Doncic finished one rebound shy of yet another triple-double, adding 10 assists and nine rebounds to go with his 27 points on 10-of-23 from the field and 4-of-10 from beyond the arc.
Delon Wright chipped in 17 points off the bench, while Kristaps Porzingis and Dwight Powell added 15 points apiece.
Anthony Davis led the charge for the Lakers with 27 points and 10 rebounds, while LeBron James finished with 25 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Alex Caruso added 10 points off the bench, with no other Lakers scoring in double figures on the night.
The Lakers got the lead down to 10, but at every turn Doncic had an answer, finding Wright with an assist, before scoring five points of his own to take a 15-point lead into the fourth.
They maintained their buffer throughout the fourth as the Lakers were unable to slow down Doncic, who drilled this stepback three over LeBron to give them their biggest lead of the night at 110-89.
Luka. Triple.#MFFL pic.twitter.com/AvAqxayxqy
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) December 1, 2019
The Mavs were on fire from three throughout this one, knocking down 17-of-49 from behind the arc, while the Lakers shot just 7-of-27 from deep.
Dallas now sits with a 13-6 record, while the Lakers remain on top of the standings at 17-3.
