The Dallas Mavericks pulled out a 119-115 double-overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night behind Luka Doncic’s two clutch three-pointers and his 10th triple-double of the season.
Doncic hit tying three-pointers in the final seconds of regulation and the first overtime en route to finishing with 35 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists.
The triple-double is the 56th for Doncic in his fifth season and his 30th career 30-point triple-double, which ranks fifth in NBA history.
The Lakers came back full-force after falling behind by as much as 19 points and got to the brink of an unlikely win, but it was Doncic, Christian Wood, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Tim Hardaway Jr. who led the Mavericks’ late push.
Wood had 24 points and 14 rebounds in the Mavs’ fourth-straight win over the Lakers, while Hardaway Jr. added 22 points and eight rebounds.
Dinwiddie scored six of his 17 points in the second overtime period for Dallas.
“Normally these games have gotten away from us, but tonight we stepped up,” coach Jason Kidd said. “L’ was incredible: He was Luka.”
WHAT TO KNOW
After trailing for most of the game, the Lakers took the lead on Dennis Schröder’s layup with 1:31 left in regulation before Russell Westbrook made two free throws with 11.8 seconds left for a 101-98 advantage.
Doncic responded, coolly moving past a perimeter screen and drilling a tying three-pointer for his first field goal of the fourth quarter.
Doncic also made the three-pointer that ultimately forced the second overtime, with 47 seconds left, tying the score at 108-108.
Dallas pulled away with a 6-0 run in the second overtime while holding Los Angeles scoreless for over two minutes to close the game.
Many attended the game or tuned in to TNT to watch the Lakers’ LeBron James try to make history.
James entered the game needing 35 points to become one of two players in NBA history to score 38,000 career points, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
But the Mavericks (24-19), primarily Hardaway and Reggie Bullock, limited James to 24 points on 9-of-28 shooting.
Viewers did see Doncic make history, with his triple-double performance marking his fourth straight season with 10 or more triple-doubles. The 23-year-old joins Oscar Robertson as one of two players in NBA history to have 8 or more triple-doubles in each of their first five seasons.
The Lakers were led in scoring by Westbrook, who came off the bench to score a season-high 28 points.
Los Angeles (19-23) had won six of their previous eight games, but they fell for the second time to the Mavericks in the last three weeks, having also lost in Dallas on Christmas Day when the Mavericks reeled off 51 third-quarter points.
BY THE NUMBERS
Dallas is dead last in the league in fast break points, scoring only 9.7 per game, but it had six fast break points in the first half alone on Thursday. But the Mavericks would only add two more fast break points after halftime as the Lakers lapped them in that department (18-8).
The Lakers also outscored the Mavericks in second-chance points (23-4).
Wood was incredible on defense with five blocks, including a block on James at the rim just before the first overtime buzzer.
Wood’s 24 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, five blocks, and two made threes mark the first game in the NBA this season where a player has matched all of these totals.
WHO SAID
Doncic rested for only 9 seconds in the final 40 minutes of play, and all five Dallas starters averaged 49 minutes played in the double-overtime thriller.
“I’m more tired now,” Doncic said. “I think I was good in the game with the energy. Now I need to rest.”
The Lakers double-teamed Doncic the entire fourth quarter except on the possession where he hit the game-tying three. Los Angeles coach Darvin Ham said he wished he had instructed his Lakers to blitz Doncic and force the ball out of his hands.
“I was a little bit surprised [because] I thought they were going to foul, honestly,” Doncic said of the crucial play. “I tried to get it up before they fouled.”
NEXT UP
The Mavericks finish a five-game road trip with games Saturday and Sunday at Portland.
