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LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 30: LeBron James #23 and Lonzo Ball #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers high five during the game against the Dallas Mavericks on November 30, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 30: LeBron James #23 and Lonzo Ball #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers high five during the game against the Dallas Mavericks on November 30, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)Adam Pantozzi/Getty Images

LeBron James, Lakers Beat Luka Doncic, Mavericks; Lonzo Ball Scores 10

Alec NathanNov 30, 2018

The Los Angeles Lakers ended November on a high note and defeated the Dallas Mavericks 114-103ย at Staples Center on Friday night.ย ย 

The win pushed the Lakers, who have won two in a row and five of their last seven overall, to 13-9 on the season. Dallas, meanwhile, had its three-game winning streak snapped.ย 

LeBron James led the way with 28 points (12-of-21ย shooting), fourย assists and fiveย rebounds, while Brandon Ingram added 19ย points. Lonzo Ball chipped in 10ย points, fiveย steals and four dimes.ย 

Harrison Barnes did the heavy lifting for Dallas to the tune of 29ย points. However, rookie sensation Luka Doncic was silenced with sixย points on 2-of-13ย shooting.ย 

Lakers' Electric Transition Offense Masking Major Turnover Problem

Dating back toย training camp, the Lakers have lived by a simple edict: Run, and run often.ย 

This season, they've done just that.ย 

Entering Friday night, L.A. ranked second in fast-break scoring (20.0 points per game) and fast-break efficiency, according toย TeamRankings.com.

Againstย the Mavericks, they didn't let up.ย 

The Lakers thrived in transition to the tune of 31ย fast-break pointsโ€”including 20 in a first half filled with pinballed passes that were parlayed into power-packed finishes:ย 

Those relentless waves of end-to-end action made for an aesthetically pleasing Showtime Lite experience, to be sure.

However, they also overshadowed the Lakers' continued inability to take care of the ball whenever they were forced to run more structured half-court sets.ย 

To wit: After entering the eveningย rankedย tied for 24th with 15.5 turnovers per game, the Lakers coughed up the rock 17ย times to help keep a Mavericks team that shot just 39.5ย percent from the field well within striking distance until they pulled away down the stretch.ย 

As the numbers suggest, this isn't a new issue. In fact, head coach Luke Waltonย saidย as recently as Sunday that turnovers were "killing" his team.ย 

But if the Lakers can correct those woes, an offense that ranksย 19th in efficiencyย could vault into a far more respectable tier.ย 

What's Next?ย 

The Lakers will be back on their home court Sunday afternoon for a showdown with the Phoenix Suns. The Mavericks will also be home Sunday for a tilt with the Los Angeles Clippers.ย 

Stats courtesy ofย NBA.comย andย ESPN.comย unless noted otherwise.ย 

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