Luka Doncic, Mavs shine in clutch time to outlast Lakers, keep LeBron James from history

LOS ANGELES — Fans primarily came to Crypto.com Arena, or tuned in to TNT, to watch LeBron James make history. Or at the least watch a duel between superstars James of the Lakers and Luka Doncic of the Mavericks.

What the fans instead saw Thursday night was a double-overtime thriller, with Dallas pulling out a 119-115 victory behind Luka Doncic’s two clutch 3-pointers and his 10th triple-double of the season — and 56th of his career.

The Lakers staged a furious rally after falling behind by as much as 19 points, but it was Doncic, Christian Wood, Spencer Dinwiddie and Tim Hardaway Jr. who led the Mavericks’ late push.

“Normally these games have gotten away from us, but tonight we stepped up,” coach Jason Kidd said. “L’ was incredible: He was Luka.”

Doncic finished with 35 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists and drained the tying 3-point shots at the end of regulation and near the end of the first overtime.

“We knew we weren’t out of it any time you’ve got [number] 77 on the floor,” Hardaway said, adding of Doncic’s two tying 3s: “That’s what he does.”

Hardaway scored 22 points and Dinwiddie scored six of his 17 points during the second overtime. Wood scored 24 points and blocked five shots, with three of the blocks coming during the two overtimes.

Doncic’s step-back 3-pointer with six seconds left in regulation tied the score at 101-101, then Tim Hardaway Jr. blocked Troy Brown Jr.’s 3-point attempt at the regulation buzzer, although replays showed that Hardaway hit Brown’s wrist.

The Lakers double-teamed Doncic the entire fourth quarter, yet they didn’t double him on the 3-pointer that forced overtime. Doncic said he thought the Lakers would foul and was surprised they didn’t. Lakers coach Darvin Ham said he wishes he’d instructed his team to blitz Doncic on the play.

“Just get into my step and that’s it,” Doncic said of his thought process. “That was the play. We needed a 3, so we were going to shoot the three.”

The Lakers (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.

“Big-time players make big-time shots,” James said of Doncic’s clutch plays on Thursday. “It’s that simple.”

Doncic also bombed in the 3-pointer that ultimately forced the second overtime, with 47 seconds left, tying the score at 108-108. Wood then blocked a James drive at the rim just before the buzzer. Wood remained in the game for the second overtime despite badly turning his ankle on one of his key blocks.

“I had to play through it. My team trusts me play through it,” said Wood, adding with a smile. “I came up came big day and got a nice little block.”

James entered the game needing 35 points to join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players in NBA history to score 38,000 career points.

But the Mavericks (24-19), primarily Hardaway and Reggie Bullock, limited James to 24 points on 9-of-28 shooting.

Russell Westbrook came off the bench to score a team-high 28 points for the Lakers, including a pair of free-throws with 11.8 seconds left in regulation to push Los Angeles’ lead to 101-98. But then Doncic pulled up for his tying 3, silencing the crowd.

The Lakers, particularly Westbrook, seemingly tried to take Doncic out of his comfort zone by playing physically against him. Doncic took exception and had to be restrained from going after Westbrook after Westbrook committed what later was deemed a flagrant foul against Doncic.

Mavericks governor Mark Cuban also took exception, tweeting during the game about how poorly it was being officiated.

Asked whether he thought Westbrook was trying to get into his head, “Doncic said “Ask him that. I don’t know. I don’t read his mind.”

Told of Cuban’s tweet, Doncic smiled and said: “I have no comments on that. I don’t want to get fined.”

The Mavericks began this five-game road trip with losses to Oklahoma City and to the Clippers. They’ll finish the trip with games Saturday and Sunday at Portland.

The Mavericks led by as much as 19 points (36-17) late in the first quarter. The Lakers inched to within 59-48 at halftime, but the Mavericks seemed to reassert control when a Hardaway 3-pointer gave them a 68-52 lead three minutes into the third quarter.

The Lakers, though, chipped away at Dallas’ lead, closing to within 82-76 after three quarters. And when Kendrick Nunn made one of two free-throws with 7:59 left in the game, it gave Los Angeles its first lead since it scored the game’s first basket.

Before the game, Doncic, in his fifth season, recalled how nerve-racking it was to face his NBA idol, James, the first time Dallas played the Lakers in this building during Doncic’s rookie season.

“Against a guy like that that you’ve been watching almost your whole life, just playing against him, actually, was a dream come true,” he said. “It was a game that I’ll never forget.

“For sure I’m way more comfortable now. “But it’s always a pleasure when you go against players like that. And especially LeBron, who’s been in this league for 20 years at the high level, every single game. So it’s really a blessing to go against him.”

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