LeBron James helps the Lakers erase a 21-point deficit with a strong third quarter, but Luka Doncic and Dallas dominate late to hand them their 10th loss in 13 games.
LOS ANGELES — After a lifeless performance on Sunday night, the Lakers needed some kind of sign to show they’re still kicking.
“I don’t know if you can do a better job on Luka tonight than we did,” Coach Frank Vogel said, after the Lakers held the 23-year-old Slovenian star to 9-for-21 shooting, but couldn’t stop him in the end. But in the end, they were snuffed by a team that – the last time they saw them – they had beaten with an overtime game-winner. The Mavericks held them to just four points over the last 7:35 of the fourth quarter this time, with former Lakers assistant Jason Kidd showing them how to close on defense during crunch-time.
“We literally missed shots,” James said. “I mean, you can execute, you can run the best plays of all time, but the ball got to go in.” After a 28-point loss to New Orleans on Sunday night, the Lakers had hit a new low, being loudly booed for most of the second half. For the first half against Dallas, it looked like their follow-up might be going the same way: The Lakers trailed by as much as 21 points in the second quarter, with a disjointed offense and weakly contested close-outs on defense.
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