Luka Doncic scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Kyrie Irving hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 21.6 seconds left and the visiting Dallas Mavericks held on for a 104-101 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
Dallas prevailed despite getting outscored 30-13 in the fourth quarter.
Irving finished with 28 points, Josh Green scored 15 points and Dereck Lively II and Richaun Holmes had 10 rebounds each as the Mavericks won without making a field goal for an 8:45 stretch that started with one minute remaining in the third quarter.
Dallas made its first field goal of the fourth quarter with 4:15 remaining and saw a 20-point, third-quarter lead evaporate when the Lakers took a 101-99 edge with 1:16 remaining on a tip-in by LeBron James.
However, James missed a 3-point attempt with 34 seconds remaining, and Irving’s trey — off Doncic’s eighth assist — put Dallas up for good at 102-101. James missed a fadeaway 3-point shot at the buzzer that would have tied the game.
James finished with 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, while Austin Reaves added 17 points as the Lakers saw their three-game winning streak come to an end on the second day of a back-to-back set of games.
D’Angelo Russell had 15 points and Anthony Davis logged 10 points and 14 rebounds for Los Angeles, which won six of its previous seven games and wrapped up a perfect 4-0 record in group play for the NBA in-season tournament with a victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.
Dallas led 29-25 after one quarter and was up 62-46 at halftime after taking control with a 22-10 run.
The Lakers trailed 91-71 after three quarters before they cut the deficit to 93-87 with 6:34 remaining after 13-0 run that included seven points from Reaves.
Los Angeles lost its momentum with four consecutive missed shots from the free-throw line, leading to Irving’s layup with 3:27 remaining that gave the Mavericks a 99-92 lead.
Another 7-0 run from the Lakers on a James 3-pointer, a floater from short range by Taurean Prince and a shot inside from Reaves tied the game 99-99 with 1:51 left.
–Field Level Media