On Wednesday night, the Dallas Mavericks suffered a stunning 107-104 loss in overtime to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Lakers rookie Austin Reaves connected on a three-point attempt with 0.9 seconds left to give Los Angeles the win.
“Man, it sucks,” Mavericks Kristaps Porzingis said postgame. “Oh my god, we should have got this one.”
Porzingis had his eighth double-double of the season, scoring 23 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Jalen Brunson led Dallas with 25 points as the team played their third consecutive game without their All-Star player Luka Doncic.
The teams reaching overtime seemed improbable when the Mavericks built up a seven-point lead at two points in the final quarter. However, the Lakers responded each time to keep the game close. Dallas also seemed likely to win when they held a 93-90 lead with 56 seconds left in the game following a Porzingis jump shot.
With nine seconds left in regulation, Lakers LeBron James missed on a three-point attempt to tie the game. The Mavericks Maxi Kleber and Porzingis both went for the rebound and accidentally knocked the ball away from each other. Lakers Wayne Ellington grabbed the loose ball and hit a three-point shot with two seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 93 and force overtime.
Overtime was a back-and-forth affair as the teams traded baskets. With 23.5 seconds left, the Lakers Russell Westbrook hit a three-point shot to make the score 104-101 in favor of Los Angeles. Kleber responded for the Mavericks, tying the game at 104 with his three-point shot with 15.2 seconds left in overtime. The game-winning three by Reaves followed on the Lakers’ next possession to seal the 107-104 victory.
Reaves was undrafted out of the University of Oklahoma and finished this game with 15 points off the bench, making five-of-six three-point attempts. The Lakers three stars each scored at least 20 points. James led the team with 24 points, while Westbrook had 23 and Anthony Davis scored 20. Los Angeles’ record now sits at 16-13.
The Mavericks continued to struggle from three-point range in this one. They made only 12-of-44 (27.3%) three-point attempts in the game, including just 3-of-18 attempts in the first two quarters.
Dallas got off to a poor start as they were outscored 33-23 in the first quarter, but they responded with a phenomenal second quarter. Dallas was dominant in the paint, outscoring Los Angeles 14-0 in second-quarter points in the paint. Brunson was a big reason for the excellent quarter as he made 6-of-7 shot attempts. Overall in the quarter, the Mavericks outscored the Lakers 27-14 to take a 50-47 lead into halftime.
The loss to the Lakers drops Dalllas’ record to 14-14 and 2-5 without Doncic. The team has already announced that Doncic will again be absent for the team’s next game on Sunday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Sunday game will be the first of back-to-back games against the Timberwolves.
