"It Sucks"... LeBron James Sounds Off On Mavericks Win Over Lakers

The King gave credit to Dallas' gameplan as the Mavericks broke a five-game losing streak

Jan 7, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket as Dallas Mavericks forward Naji Marshall (13) defends during the second half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks broke a five-game losing streak on Tuesday night by picking up a 118-97 win over LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Dallas shot a blistering 18/38 from three-point range as they were able to take the Lakers off the dribble and open up shots all over the floor.

LeBron James had high praise for the Mavs, saying in his postgame media availability, "They had a great gameplan versus our defense, and obviously they watched to see how we play. They put us in a lot of pick-and-rolls, spread us out. Most of the time, it was five-out when Lively wasn't in the game. They had multiple ball-handlers, if they broke us down, it was either get to the rim or spray out, and then they play drive-and-kick game. Hit a lot of threes. It started with the end of the second quarter, we had a horrible finish to the second quarter after we were up 50-44, let Klay [Thompson] hit three in a row and they end up going into the half up five and extended it from there. They put people in the pick-and-roll, they wanted pick-and-roll to exploit matchups and when we got into rotations, we didn't make enough second efforts."

READ MORE: JJ Redick Reveals One Key Reason For Mavericks' Win Over Lakers

James nearly had a triple-double in Tuesday's performance, producing 18 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists on 6/12 shooting, but is more disappointed that the Lakers exit a two-game road trip to Texas without a win.

"It sucks, especially knowing where we were, how well we'd been playing. We had a chance in Houston [on Sunday] and started off in the first half horrible, but we made ourselves a one-possession game. Played pretty good all the way until about the last three minutes of this second quarter, and we [were] playing catch-up... We can't really dwell on it too much."

Dallas desperately needed this win, as this pushed them back ahead of the Lakers in the Western Conference standings. They're looking for any way to tread water without Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in the lineup possible, and they were able to do it on Tuesday night.

READ MORE: 3 Takeaways From Mavericks' Upset Win Over LA Lakers

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