Mavericks vs. Lakers: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2016 Regular Season
The Los Angeles Lakers led by as many as 11 points at one point on Thursday night, but they collapsed during a dreadful second half and fell to the Dallas Mavericks 101-89 at Staples Center.
The Lakers dropped to 12-24 in defeat and closed December 2-14 following a 9-8 showing in November. The Mavericks, on the other hand, improved to 10-23 overall and are 7-9 in December following a 3-14 start to the season.
Harrison Barnes helped pace the Mavericks with 17 points (6-of-17 shooting) and nine rebounds, and he's now hit double-figures in 33 straight games. According to Mavs.com's Earl K. Sneed, Barnes owns the Mavericks record for consecutive games with at least 10 points to start his tenure with the team.
Wesley Matthews added 20 points (6-of-14 shooting, 4-of-9 from three) and six boards, while Devin Harris posted 14 points off the bench.
Although it wasn't clear later, the Lakers were sharp throughout the first half. They rode balanced production and 56.8 percent shooting from the field over the opening 24 minutes to a seven-point lead at the break, and their guard play was a major reason why.
Nick Young (17 points) started things off with a bang when he shot 4-of-4 from three in the first quarter and poured in 12 points to ignite the Purple and Gold entering the second frame, but he wasn't fed the ball at similar clips following the explosive start.
D'Angelo Russell (15 points, six assists) and Jordan Clarkson (15 points) also served as an effective one-two punch early, and they did the bulk of their work inside the arc to supplement what Young flashed beyond it:
Even though the Lakers dictated the flow of the first half, they fell off in the third quarter when their offense started to stagnate.
Clarkson and Russell were effectively silenced for the entire period, and the Lakers started to have a meltdown as Dallas' offense found its groove.
The Mavericks proceeded to score 31 points and outscore the Lakers by 18 in the frame, and L.A. mustered a grand total of five points over the quarter's final eight minutes, according to Lakers.com's Mike Trudell.
As Dallas' lead grew, the Washington Post's Tim Bontemps noted the Lakers remain a work-in-progress on one end of the floor:
Specifically, SB Nation's Silver Screen & Roll pointed out the Lakers had trouble guarding some of Dallas' most basic actions:
Deron Williams orchestrated a majority of the Mavs' pick-and-rolls, and he finished with a game-high 11 dimes, including several to a diving Dwight Powell (14 points, six rebounds), as the NBA on TNT documented on Twitter:
While Williams had no trouble racking up assists, the Lakers were largely dependent on isolations to do most of their damage. As a team, they mustered 15 helpers—and that number stuck out with Williams picking his spots with ease on the other end of the floor.
The Lakers have now lost six of their last seven—a win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Christmas Day represents their lone win in that span—and they won't be back on the hardwood until the calendar flips over to 2017.
When they do return to the floor on Jan. 1, the Lakers won't have it easy. The Toronto Raptors are slated to make a trip to Hollywood on Sunday, and L.A. will need to try and conquer one of the Eastern Conference's best teams before the feisty Memphis Grizzlies come to town two days later.
The Mavericks will be back in action Friday against the Golden State Warriors in the most difficult opponent they could ask for on the second night of a back-to-back, so a repeat of Thursday's effort shouldn't exactly be expected.
However, once their trip to the Bay Area is over, the Mavs will be able to catch their breath for a couple days before the Washington Wizards pay a visit to American Airlines Center Jan. 3.
Postgame Reaction
"I really thought we’d made some big progress … disappointed to see we had the same type of result again," Lakers head coach Luke Walton said, per Trudell.
Walton also harped on the team's inability to stay competitive in the third quarter.
"I was expecting a little more fight when we started the [second] half," he said, per the Los Angeles Times' Tania Ganguli. "I was wrong."
"After you get hit so many times, you would hope to see that change happening," Walton added, according to the Los Angeles Daily News' Mark Medina.
Take it from Matthews, and the Mavericks flipped the switch in terms of focus to flip the momentum in their favor.
"We got physical in the second half and started playing harder and together," he said, per Sneed. "We got a lot of stops, and we were able to not take the ball out of the net and just got to play basketball. We were making shots, we were getting in a rhythm, we were getting good looks, and we were able to open the game up a little bit."
Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle also provided his take on what changed between the first and second halves.
"Well, in the first half we just weren’t taking anything away," he said, per Sneed. "They were shooting the three well, they were getting to the free-throw line and they were shooting a great percentage. And we just said, 'Look, what’s gotten us wins this year is the defensive end, and we've just got to recommit right now."
