3 things we learned from the Mavericks win over the Lakers, 122 - 73

The Mavericks and Lakers matchup doesn’t quite have the same excitement and rivalry as it used to: both teams are in a transition period where ping-pong balls are more valuable than wins. On a sunny Sunday afternoon in Dallas, we saw the Mavs totally pound a lifeless Lakers team who didn’t seem to be interested in winning one single bit.

The 34-point deficit that the Mavs handed out at half time was the biggest in Lakers history, and enabled much of the starting lineup to get as much rest as possible after the game was basically over halfway through the third. The Mavericks also set their season high for a half, with 67 points. On the 11th anniversary of Kobe Bryant hitting 81 points for the Lakers against the Raptors, this young Laker squad couldn’t manage to even get that total with 73 points for the team. Yeah, not great. In fact, it was the biggest loss in Lakers history.

Deron Williams, who finished with 13 points and 8 assists in 26 minutes climbed to number 20 on the NBA all time assist ladder, passing Kevin Johnson and now sits with a total of 6,715.

Wesley Matthews left the game and did not return

Just before the half time break, Wes tried to save a ball going out of bounds only to pull up sore and immediately ask to be taken out of the game. After walking off the court, Matthews head straight to the locker room and did not return. It was reported shortly after that it was a right hip strain, which is sort of good news as every time Wes goes down, I freak out straight away that it’s related to his Achilies.

Wes finished with 13 points (5 from 9) in a very strong half and hit his 1200^th three of his career, and is showing us lately how valuable he is to this Mavericks squad.

Justin Anderson came alive

Anderson finished with a team high of 19 points along with 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 16 minutes. With the possibility of Wes needing to take time off with his injury, this game was crucial for Anderson to show that he is still capable of producing numbers. This season has definitely been on the underwhelming side for Anderson, but with games like this, he reminds us of what he can do when he’s on.

Having Anderson and Powell play well together is a really fun combination, and can give the Mavs a really athletic one-two punch off the bench. As much as garbage time can be lame to watch, some of the most exciting moments of the game came in the last quarter where these 2 showed off their athleticism with high-flying dunks and blocks.

Dirk bounced back

I know it was only one game, but watching Dirk against the Jazz was so hard to watch, finishing with a shooting percentage south of 9 percent. In Dirk’s short time against the Lakers he showed us the last game was nothing short of an off night as he put in 13 points (5 from 11) and 5 rebounds in 20 minutes.

So rest easy knowing that in his 19^th season, he’s still giving the Mavs all he has.

The Mavericks will take on the Knicks on Wednesday night at home, 7:30pm central. Join us for the game coverage.