Mavs LISTEN: 3 Big Reasons For Collapse vs. Lakers; NBA Roundup - Lillard Did What?!

The Dallas Mavericks had a tough pill to swallow on Sunday evening after blowing a prime opportunity to defeat the new-look Los Angeles Lakers. The Mavs Step Back Podcast lists the biggest reasons for Dallas' collapse and discusses other NBA action that took place on Sunday ... Damian Lillard did what?!

After leading the Los Angeles Lakers 48-21 at one point in the second quarter on Sunday, things slowly started to unravel for the Dallas Mavericks throughout the remainder of the game. When the dust settled, Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the rest of the crew found themselves on the wrong side of a 111-108 final score.

“It started way before the third," coach Jason Kidd said. "We lost our rhythm in the sense of just playing our game and not worrying about the other elements. Our rhythm there in the first two-and-a-half [quarters], we were playing at a high level on both ends offensively and defensively. Then, we just got a little distracted with the whistle. We've just got to be better with that.”

Although Kidd didn't call out Doncic directly, his comments were definitely directed at him, as Doncic, on a handful of occasions, let the officiating affect his level of play from the second quarter through the end of the game. Doncic led the way for Dallas with 26 points, but he also had six turnovers, including a catastrophic one with 15 seconds remaining when the Mavs were down 108-105.

“It happened so fast," said Irving, who through the inbounds pass to Doncic before the turnover. "I thought Luka needed a little bit more room so I threw it towards the backcourt because I thought Jarred Vanderbilt did a great job denying him. I thought he was just going to let it bounce twice and then go grab it, but once I saw him try to save it from halfcourt I looked at him maybe like a minute later and was like, ‘You know you can go backcourt,’ and he was like, ‘Ah, man. That’s my fault.’

"This is what it’s going to be like when you’re learning in-game with one another."

On today's episode of the Mavs Step Back Podcast, we identify the three big reasons for Dallas coughing up a 27-point lead. The uncharacteristic play from Doncic and Irving down the stretch definitely hurt, but the questionable coaching decisions from Kidd and the stellar defensive play from Lakers wing Jarred Vanderbilt also had a lot to do with it as well.

To wrap things up, we discuss all the other NBA action that happened on Sunday night, including Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard exploding for a career-high 71 points in just 39 minutes played against the Houston Rockets. We also take a look at the updated Western Conference standings with just 20 games remaining in the season:

As always, thanks for listening! Be sure to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for a chance to win future giveaways. Also, be sure to download the Playback app to join our FREE Mavs watch parties for every single game.

Follow Dalton Trigg on Twitter.

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Dallas Mavericks? Click Here.

Follow DallasBasketball.com on Twitter and Facebook.