Dallas Mavs Fall to LeBron James' Lakers in OT Thriller

One of the most highly-anticipated home games of the season lived up to the billing.

DALLAS - In one of their most highly-anticipated home games of the season, the Dallas Mavericks lost to the Los Angeles Lakers 107-104 in an overtime thriller in front of a mix of Mavs and Lakers fans (plus Dallas Cowboys CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, La'el Collins and Ezekiel Elliott) at the American Airlines Center. 

Kristaps Porzingis and Jalen Brunson powered the almost double-digit comeback against LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook. But the Mavs lost to the Lakers in a wild overtime that featured trading back-to-back-to-back-to-back threes, culminated in a buzzer-beater by undrafted rookie Austin Reaves. 

"It's amazing they (LeBron, Davis and Westbrook) trust me... It's crazy... it's surreal... I'm not sure it's hit me yet," said Reaves on the TNT broadcast. 

Mavs star Luka Doncic sat out his third straight game with left ankle soreness. Dallas therefore knew if it stood a chance to upset the Lakers, Porzingis would have to step up in Doncic's absence. The 7-foot 3 Porzingis has led the team without Doncic on the court on the defensive side of the ball while also putting up impressive numbers in Dallas' last two wins. 

And here, KP was effective, with 23 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. He got help, too, from Jalen Brunson (25 points, nine assists) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (20 points).

But  …

“We let one slip away,” Brunson said. “That’s literally what happened. We had it in our hands and gave it away.”

A game of runs and many lead changes, the Mavs continued to struggle from beyond-the-arc (until overtime). Dallas went 0-of-7 from three in the first quarter, while the Lakers were 6-of-9. That trend continued until Maxi Kleber finally hit the first Mavs three with 9:35 remaining in the second quarter. 

The Mavs went on a 15-0 run to start the second quarter and pulled in front of the Lakers to end the first half, 50-47, despite going 3-of-18 from three. 

The Lakers were without Dwight Howard, Malik Monk and Talen Horton-Tucker (COVID) due to health and safety protocols. LeBron received a loud cheer from the many, many fans wearing his jersey at the AAC. James' star power feels palpable, highlighted by a few buckets that could make SC Top 10 tomorrow. 

Mavs forward Dorian Finney-Smith, their best defender, limped off the floor and straight to the locker room in the third quarter. He did return to play. 

A hard-fought battle, the game was tied at 73 to start the fourth quarter. Dallas was able to keep up with the Lakers, with much thanks to Brunson and Hardaway.

Porzingis continued his strong play, particularly in the fourth quarter with a behind-the-back assist to Finney-Smith, followed by a deep three-pointer on the next possession to push the Mavs up 80-73.

A one-point game with one minute remaining, Porzingis hit a jumper that put the Mavs up three points. LeBron attempted and missed a three-point shot to tie the game. Then, after the Lakers grabbed the rebound - but only after KP and Maxi Kleber accidentally knocked it free from one another - Wayne Ellington hit a three to tie the game with two seconds left to send the game to overtime.  

Wayne Ellington ties the game! 🔥

Lakers and Mavs are headed to OT!pic.twitter.com/hpml5hLZN0

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 16, 2021

Said KP: "I didn’t see it was him. He saw it was me, so he said he saw that I was off balance. That’s why he wanted to grab it, but I had it.

“it’s just a dumb mistake, and they capitalized."

Overtime featured a timely block from Porzingis and timely shooting by Kleber and Finney-Smith. A Hardaway Jr. turnover turned into a LeBron dunk to give L.A. a 101-98 lead. Hardaway Jr. answered with a three-pointer to tie the game at 101. With 23 seconds remaining, Westbrook nailed a clutch three to again give the Lakers the lead. 

You won't believe this ... but Kleber then hit another three (bank shot!) to tie the game to make it back-to-back-to back answers. ...

One last answer at the buzzer came when Reaves nailed a three to give the 16-13 Lakers their third win in a row. James, Westbrook and Davis finished with 24, 23 and 20 points, respectively. But it was Reaves' 15 that jumped off the page.

The Mavs are 14-14 overall and now 2-5 without Doncic this season. Doncic will also be out for the Mavs’ weekend road trip to Minnesota while he continues to rehab his ankle. Doncic originally injured his left knee and ankle against Denver on Nov. 15 and tweaked his ankle again on Dec. 10.

It was also the first meeting between Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd and the Lakers, after Kidd spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach in Los Angeles (2019-21) and helped the franchise to the 2020 NBA championship.

Next, Dallas gets a few days off before hitting the road to play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday at 7 p.m. CT.