After winning the league’s first-ever in-season tournament in Sin City, the Los Angeles Lakers returned to action on Tuesday night on the road against the Dallas Mavericks.

Despite questionable labeling, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Luka Doncic were all able to play for their respective clubs. Kyrie Irving and Jarred Vanderbilt, on the other hand, were both cut. After the Mavericks won with a final score of 127-125, the Lakers’ season record fell to 14-10.

In the opening minutes of the game, both teams committed a number of thoughtless errors. After missing a few layups, Davis eventually got a rebound to go as the score was tied at six.

Taurean Prince of the Lakers made the game’s opening three-pointer after the Mavericks went on a quick 5-0 run. Unfortunately, after receiving his second foul, Davis was substituted to the bench early on.

Without James and Davis, the Lakers’ offense struggled as was to be expected. Rui Hachimura scored five points in a row after coming off the bench to help Los Angeles trim the deficit in the first quarter to 34-26.

Tim Hardaway Jr. of the Mavericks got off to a scorching start and maintained it into the second quarter with another three-pointer, to which Austin Reaves responded with a layup. The Lakers’ defensive siege allowed them to reduce their disadvantage as LeBron James continued to score whenever he pleased.

But Dallas kept going because Los Angeles was unable to stop Doncic from reaching the free throw line. Seth Curry hit a deep shot, putting the Mavericks ahead by 13 points.

The Mavericks, who were blazing from three-point range, capitalized on the Lakers’ turnover problem, which had been bothering them for a while. Despite scoring six straight points to stay in the game, the Lakers trailed 71-61 at the half.

Davis appeared to have a groin issue at halftime, but he still came back into the game to start the third quarter. James was Los Angeles’ hero early in the third quarter, dominating the court on both ends. James’ three-pointer and Davis’ baby hook allowed the Warriors to close the gap to five points, causing Jason Kidd to call a timeout.

To close the third quarter and build their advantage to its largest since the game’s start, the Lakers went on a run. That was primarily because of Davis, who opened the fourth quarter with his team up 95–93 after scoring five straight points, including a triple that beat the buzzer.

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James scored early in the fourth quarter to make the score 10-0. The run was subsequently stopped by three-pointers from Dante Exum and Grant Williams.

Doncic, Hardaway, James, and Davis continued to be the leaders of their respective teams as the game went into the fourth quarter, trading baskets to tie the score at 108. Nevertheless, following two Lakers turnovers, Dallas scored five straight baskets, with Exum continuing his horrific three-point shooting.

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The Lakers still struggled against the Mavericks’ other players, including Hardaway, Exum, and Williams, even though Doncic lived up to the hype.

Prince was the same for Dallas; in the final two minutes of regular, he made a three-pointer to bring the Lakers within four. But Exum capitalized on the Lakers’ incessant errors by dribbling into an open basket for his third consecutive corner triple.

The Lakers’ defeat was inevitable because they were unable to reply after that.

On December 12, 2023, in the American Airlines Arena, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers handles the ball during the game against the Dallas Mavericks.On December 12, 2023, at the American Airlines Arena, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots the ball during the game against the Dallas Mavericks.

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