The Lakers-Mavs double-overtime thriller featured admiration between LeBron James and Luka Dončić, SIChrisMannix writes
There was plenty of bad, too. The Lakers shot 39% from the floor. The Mavericks committed 19 turnovers. Dallas shot 33.3% from three, lights out compared to L.A.’s 24.4% connect rate. The Lakers shot 63% from the free throw line … 10 percentage points better than the Mavericks.
The refereeing was suspect. Neither side was happy. After watching Dončić take one too many bumps—and apparently being informed that Stan Van Gundy, calling the game for TNT, believed Dončić deserved more whistles—Mark Cuban, from behind the Dallas bench, tweeted: “Stan Van Gundy is absolutely right. Worst officiated game.” In the closing seconds of regulation, Troy Brown Jr. appeared to get fouled by Hardaway on a three-point shot. No call.
Still—LeBron vs. Luka makes any game good. Facing traps and blitzes, double and triple teams, Dončić stuffed the stat sheet with 35 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists. He looked gassed at the end of the third quarter but still summoned the strength to knock down a game-tying three-pointer at the end of the fourth. “I’m kicking myself for that,” said Lakers coach Darvin Ham. He did it again in the first overtime, banging in a 27-foot step-back.James doesn’t hide his admiration for Dončić.
James and Dončić will move on. James will anxiously await the return of Anthony Davis, hoping a healthy Davis—and maybe a little help at the trade deadline—will create some stability on a Lakers team that has had “a billion different lineups.” Dončić will hope the eventual return of Dorian Finney-Smith and Maxi Kleber will give Dallas enough firepower to make a late-season push.
They will meet again in February: James, perhaps the greatest player in NBA history, and Dončić, one of a handful of players on a short list of stars who could eclipse him.
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