The Mavericks have picked up their fourth win in a row with a 125-127 win over the Lakers in one of the best games of the season. The Mavericks were missing many rotational players, while the healthy Lakers were coming off their In-Season Tournament win.
Fans loved the action, though the Lakers’ loss had some people upset and some people overjoyed.
https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/173476944287645The%20Virginia%20Wizards
Fans saw how the Lakers couldn’t win despite both their star players combining for 70 points and 19 rebounds.
LeBron and AD combined for 70 points but still couldn't beat this kid named Luka pic.twitter.com/J67kyLWqh8
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) December 13, 2023
Dante Exum is a name Laker fans will not forget, especially after his fourth-quarter barrage of threes.
Thousands of Lakers fans are just learning that Dante Exum is back in the league with him dropping seven threes on their heads
— 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 (@Three_Cone) December 13, 2023
Lakers fans were devastated that Exum was the difference-maker in the fourth quarter.
Lakers just lost to Dante Exum pic.twitter.com/Q3a8qz7ffW
— Lou (@ItsLouFrFr) December 13, 2023
Non-Lakers fans mocked LeBron and AD for getting outplayed by Exum in the fourth quarter.
WE JUST WITNESSED DANTE EXAM OUTPLAYING LEBRON AND AD IN THE CLUTCH https://t.co/ShKfuPCfgs
— De🅿️ressed Warriors Fan 💔 (@GoIdenState) December 13, 2023
Mavericks fans think that Exum might be the most complementary backcourt partner Luka has had since the start of his tenure on the Mavs.
i’m not joking when i say i’ve never seen a seamless fit such as exum in the backcourt with luka in his entire mavs career lmao. like *this* version of exum is actually perfect lol
— SJ (@SJBasketball8) December 13, 2023
Fans are giving props to Luka for playing some of the best basketball of his career over the last few weeks and leading the Mavericks to the No. 3 seed in the West.
Best-shape-of-his-life Luka is predictably terrifying
8 straight 30+ point games
36-9-12 over his last 6
Mavs 3rd in the West
— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) December 13, 2023
Laker fans criticized the team’s strategy while guarding players not named Luka on the Mavericks.
Three non-Luka guys done made 5 threes and the Lakers keep leaving them open.
Just stupid.
— Ry (@JustRyCole) December 13, 2023
Both teams stuffed the box score on this night. Anthony Davis had a monster 37 points with 11 rebounds, while LeBron James had 33 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists, along with three steals. Austin Reaves gave the Lakers 22 points off the bench, but none of it was enough due to a poor defense that allowed the Mavericks to explode.
Luka Doncic had 33 points but was struggling to score through aggressive defensive schemes put together by LA. As a result, he dropped 17 assists to facilitate big nights from his teammates. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 32 points, Dante Exum had 26 points with seven three-pointers, and Grant Williams came back from injury to drop 19 points on only two missed shots.
The Lakers Will Rue This Missed Opportunity
This was the perfect opportunity for the Lakers to pick up a win against a rival franchise at the top of the West. The Mavericks were without Kyrie Irving, Josh Green, Maxi Kleber, and Derrick Jones Jr., and also lost Seth Curry to injury during the game. They were also on a back-to-back, with Doncic needing to play 42 minutes last night to beat the Grizzlies. The Lakers were coming off two days of rest and the defensive intensity we saw in the In-Season Tournament had disappeared.
Not having Jarred Vanderbilt on the court affected the Lakers’ ability to defend Luka one-on-one, forcing Darvin Ham to rely on doubling Doncic and praying players like Exum and Williams don’t hit their open threes. Even when they started hitting these shots, Ham made no defensive adjustments and kept the team engaged in stopping Luka, not the others.
Being without Vanderbilt can be the reason for the loss, especially with the much deeper injury issues Dallas came into this game with. This is the Lakers’ second loss to the Mavericks this season, establishing a worrying pattern for the Lakers who were expected to be title contenders.
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