Anthony Davis Takes Blame for Lakers' Loss to Mavs After Maxi Kleber's Game-Winner

Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis took accountability after Maxi Kleber drilled a game-winner over him in the Dallas Mavericks' 111-110 victory on Saturday night.

"I already came in and told them the last play was my fault," he said after the game.

In the final seconds, with the Lakers up two points, Davis drifted off Kleber to help on defense, which gave the 6'10" German ample space to spot up beyond the arc.

It was the culmination of a tough closing stretch for Davis. His foul on Kleber with seven seconds left allowed the Mavericks big man to sink three free throws. Then he missed one of his two chances from the charity stripe with 6.1 seconds remaining, which kept the door open for Dallas to win in regulation.

The game might have been over a lot earlier were it not for Davis' 26 points and 10 rebounds. He remained a consistent offensive threat on a night when L.A. shot 5-of-20 from the perimeter as a team.

For the Lakers, failing to seal the deal could prove costly.

At 34-37, Los Angeles remains 10th in the Western Conference and only has the edge on the 11th-place Utah Jazz on winning percentage. The team failed to gain any ground on the Golden State Warriors or Minnesota Timberwolves, both of whom also lost Friday.

More importantly, the Lakers also ceded the head-to-head tiebreaker to the Mavs. Dallas went 3-1 in the season series and effectively has a three-game lead on Los Angeles in the standings as a result.

With 11 games left on the schedule, Davis and his teammates are quickly running out of runway to secure a top-six berth, and even qualifying for the play-in tournament is no sure thing.