Luka Doncic's Mavs Blow 27-Point Lead vs. LeBron James' Lakers: 3 Big Takeaways

The Dallas Mavericks had the worst meltdown loss of the NBA season after leading the Los Angeles Lakers by as many as 27 points. DallasBasketball.com has some takeaways.

DALLAS — Despite leading by as many as 27 points, the Dallas Mavericks allowed the Los Angeles Lakers to rally back to win 111-108 on Sunday. It was the first time an NBA team lost this season despite holding that large of a lead. 

It was a hot start from the Mavs, with the Lakers struggling to produce offensively. Anthony Davis led all performers with 30 points and 15 rebounds, while LeBron James scored 26. They also landed big games from Jarred Vanderbilt and Dennis Schroder. 

The Mavs didn't receive the typical superstar impact from their top players, as Luka Doncic had 26 points but six turnovers. Kyrie Irving finished with 21 points but shot 8-22 from the floor and 2-10 from 3-point range. Despite having a 20-to-6 advantage in made 3s, it wasn't enough for the Mavs to overcome the Lakers' dominant paint presence. 

Here are three big takeaways from the Mavs' loss to the Lakers: 

3. No Answer For Lakers' Size; Why Not Play Christian Wood More?

The Mavs pursued Christian Wood in the offseason to be an upgrade over what Dwight Powell provided during the team's run to the Western Conference Finals. In a game in which Wood handled his matchup against Anthony Davis much better than Powell while providing an array of scoring dimensions and spacing, he played only 20 minutes off the bench compared to Powell's 27 minutes. 

Wood's minutes have been inexplicably reduced since returning from injury. He has yet to play at least 25 minutes in a single game in February despite producing averages of 21.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks in 34.1 minutes per game in January. 

For a team that relies on perimeter firepower to make plays in the paint, most matchups will require a stretch-five option to maximize the spacing. As last year's playoffs have already shown, if the Mavs aren't enabled to run high pick-and-roll against a traditional drop coverage, Powell is often standing in the dunker's spot, allowing the defense to have a shot blocker nearby or to overload in help. 

To make matters worse, Wood did a better defensive job against Powell anyway. Teams are routinely dropping 60+ points in the paint against the Mavs. They are joined by the San Antonio Spurs as the only teams allowing at least 60 points in the paint per game. The Lakers finished with 62 points in the paint to the Mavs' 32.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis consistently used their size advantage, scoring 18 points in the paint. The inability to contain traditional bigs and larger wings with skill continues to be a significant issue for the Mavs. Losing Dorian Finney-Smith undoubtedly has led to a negative trend in this area.

When the Mavs get Maxi Kleber back, the best balance between offensive firepower and having defensive versatility is to play him alongside Wood in the frontcourt. Powell appears best served to play a smaller role with the bench unit. When Doncic or Irving aren't playing to their normal level, Wood would be able to add more firepower. 

2. Struggles Despite Opponent's Poor 3-Point Shooting

A significant factor that helped the Mavs to lead by as many as 27 points was the massive disparity in perimeter shooting results in their favor. Dallas lost despite shooting 20-49 (40.8 percent) from deep, compared to the Lakers' 6-34 (17.6 percent) shooting on those same looks. 

Early on, Doncic was converting on step-back 3s while his teammates were dropping in catch-and-shoot 3s. The Lakers began to muck up the game by staying the course as far as rim protection tendencies were concerned with Davis patrolling the paint. The wing defenders also took it upon themselves to be aggressive, too. 

The Lakers played with more tenacity than the Mavs, which was exemplified by Vanderbilt recording eight of his 17 rebounds on the offensive glass. When shots aren't falling, making extra efforts in other areas is essential. 

"He killed us tonight, offensively and defensively, being able to rebound the ball," Kidd said of Vanderbilt. "He killed us on the boards. We've seen that before in Minnesota and also in Utah. We knew that that's what he did, and he did it at a high level."

The Lakers scored only 16 points in the first quarter, but managed to put up a combined 95 points for the remainder of regulation. They managed to play through adversity in ways the Mavs simply were unable. Even after LeBron James suffered an ankle injury, the Lakers continued to climb back. 

“The guys never got discouraged,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “They had that look of frustration, but it wasn't a look of defeatedness on their faces. Everybody just wanted to stay encouraged.” 

There were many times when perimeter players weren't boxing out or containing dribble penetration. There's a general need to lock in on that end despite having personnel limitations in respect to size on the wing and at center. The Lakers did while the Mavs failed to do so. 

1. Failure to Sustain Success Amid Referee Distractions

After gaining a 27-point lead, the Mavs begun to lose momentum as the first half neared its end. The officiating clearly became a source of frustration and seemed to cause the Mavs to lose focus. There is a sense of needing greater maturity when things aren't going their way to stay poised. 

“We have to grow up if we want to win a championship,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “What the Lakers just showed us is it’s not the rabbit that wins; it’s the turtle. And they worked the game. And that’s what we have to get better at.”

Managing to score just 20 points in the third quarter and were outscored by an 11-point margin in the period. While there was some improvement in the fourth quarter, it wasn't enough. A key factor was despite thriving in non-Luka minutes in the first half, the Mavs were unable to ride Irving's impact as the leader of the bench unit to begin the fourth quarter. 

"I think we showed some great poise in the third quarter. But in that fourth quarter, I have to do a better job of just getting us into some initiated offensive sets and just be aggressive and not kind of force my way into the lane. I feel like after they were scoring, there were a few times I tried to rush the ball up-court and answer back with a three.

Irving explained: "I just have to let the flow of the game dictate my instincts and then be able to withstand some of the Lakers’ runs, especially when Luka’s [Dončić] not out there.”

Despite all of the ups and downs, the Mavs still had a genuine chance to win. Kyrie Irving scored with 32.0 seconds remaining in regulation to cut the deficit to 106-105. Davis hit a big shot from 12-feet out with 18.1 seconds left, pushing the Lakers back up by three. Still, Dallas had a chance in a single possession game after advancing the ball using a timeout. 

With about 15 seconds remaining in regulation, the Mavs had a crucial possession that ended with a turnover. Doncic received an inbounds pass from Irving, but didn't realize he could cross backcourt, so he tried to save the ball. That ultimately proved ot be too much to overcome.

“That was my bad," Doncic said. "I totally forgot you can go backcourt. That was my mistake. That is why I tried to save it.”

There's a lot for the Mavs to clean up and they will have opportunities to practice throughout their current six-game homestand. 

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