3 things we learned as the Dallas Mavericks pummel the Los Angeles Lakers, 114-100

The Dallas Mavericks earned another impressive road win, shutting down the Los Angeles Lakers and their 10 game winning streak, defeating LA 114-100 Sunday afternoon. Luka Doncic led Dallas with 27 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists. Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 27 points in defeat.

Dallas got off to an ugly start against LA, getting down 15-5 early as the Lakers strong defense resulted in multiple turnovers. After a Kristaps Porzingis putback and a Luka Doncic three closed the gap and settled the Mavericks. Doncic had a rough remainder of the quarter, turning it over a Lebron James drew a questionable charge, then he was blocked at the rim by Davis. He did finish an and-one attempt but a blown lay up on the next possession resulted in his getting pulled from the game a bit earlier than normal. The Maverick bench closed the remainder of the quarter and somehow Dallas only trailed 25-30 after one.

The Maverick bench came out gunning in the second frame, hitting repeated threes to close the gap and tie the game. Dallas actually took repeated brief leads in the quarter as Justin Jackson, Delon Wright, and Dwight Powell each made contributions. The starters all re-entered the game and Porzingis looked to make a big impact hitting a pair of threes before back to back fouls took him out of the game. A pair of scramble plays by both teams kept the Laker lead at three and Dallas entered half-time down 59-62.

A strange thing happened in the third quarter: the Dallas Mavericks absolutely blew the doors off the Lakers. Inspired defense paired with excellent shot-making resulted in a 17-0 run that put Los Angeles on their heels. Luka Doncic led with 16 points in the frame but an all around team effort (including the coolest KP three pointer of the season) resulted in the huge run. Alex Caruso attempted to will the Lakers back into things with a pair of threes, but the Mavericks were not shaken. Dallas took a 94-79 lead into the fourth quarter.

Dallas stole the ball on an entry pass on the first play of the fourth and any attempt to rally the Laker troops felt dead on arrival when Wright connected on an above-the-break three on the ensuing possession. Dallas kept the lead north of 15 for most of the quarter as the Lakers just could’t get defensive stops no matter how well they scored the ball. A tremendously rude Luka Doncic three over Lebron at the midway point in the quarter effectively ended the game. The benches emptied around the three minute mark and the Dallas Mavericks leave Los Angeles with an impressive road victory, 114-100.

Now, some stuff!

How much can you bench

The Maverick bench came through huge against the Lakers. With both Doncic and Porzingis struggling in the first quarter, the bench unit steadied Dallas until their superstars could find their way. Led by 17 points, five rebounds, and nine assists from Delon Wright as well as a brisk 15 points from Justin Jackson in just 15 minutes, the Dallas bench looked lively. Remarkably the entire unit had only one turnover despite a lot of minutes.

Dwight Powell, starter

There’s been chatter about Dwight Powell’s impact this season, because his individual stats and efficiency have taken a hit despite how awesome the Maverick offense has been. Against the Lakers, Powell played an exquisite game, putting in 15 points and nine rebounds while playing solid defense against Anthony Davis. He had a huge offensive rebound and put back in the second quarter which had me fist pumping.

Dorian Finney-Smith’s block

There’s a ton to take away from this game, but I’m supposed to be on vacation. So watch this DFS block a million times.

Here’s the postgame podcast, Mavs Moneyball After Dark. If you can’t see the embed below “More from Mavs Moneyball”, click here. And if you haven’t yet, subscribe by searching “Mavs Moneyball podcast” into your favorite podcast app.