The Los Angeles Lakers played yet another intense game that went all the way down to the wire. They went on a journey to Texas to face off the Dallas Mavericks in their American Airlines Center. The clash between Luka Doncic and LeBron James was postponed for now, as the Slovenian was unfit to play. However, even without their young superstar, the Mavs still have a fantastic roster. Led by Kristaps Porzingis, the hosts started off quite disoriented, but in the 2nd Quarter they managed to go on a 15-0 run. This gave them the opportunity to pull away from the Lakers after the first half.
FEARLESS 👀 pic.twitter.com/JBKoMqYjzM
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) December 16, 2021
The second half started with a bit of domination from the Lakers who were leading 57:63 at some point. However, there was a tie after the end of the third quarter and the fans in Texas became more and more concerned. They knew how clutch the Lakers can be in certain situations. Surprisingly and fortunately for them, the Mavs were the one with the better performance in the last quarter. They quickly took a 7-point lead, 80:73. In the last minutes of the game, the Lakers made yet another miraculous comeback. They found themselves in the lead 89:90 with 3 minutes to play. However, after two successful shots from Porzingis, Dallas took the upper hand for 93:90 with 56 seconds on the clock. In the dying moments of the game, Wayne Ellington was on the right place at the right time and sank a 3-pointer, leaving Tim Hardaway Jr. flying past him. With two seconds on the clock, the Lakers’ guard sent the game into overtime.
Wayne Ellington sends us to overtime 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/7G0nbOikZQ
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 16, 2021
The Mavericks were once again more concentrated in the early minutes in the overtime. They took a 98:95 lead, but then Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James took matter in their hands. Each of them scored a bucket, thus making the score 101:98 in favour of the Lakers. A 3-pointer from Tim Hardaway Jr. kept the Mavs’ hopes alive for a couple of seconds. Then, with 24 seconds left on the clock, Russell Westbrook surprisingly took a shot from beyond the arc. His attempt was successful and gave his team a 3-point lead. In the next attack, nobody was guarding Maxi Kleber from Dallas who tied the game from deep range. In Lakers’ last offensive play, Russell Westbrook dribbled past a couple of defenders and gave a pass to Austin Reaves who remained open on the edge. He sent the ball towards the rim without a blink of an eye. Reaves made the shot of his life with 0.9 seconds on the game clock. The Mavs didn’t find an answer to that as the game ended 104:107 to the Lakers.
Can't stop watching. #LakersWin pic.twitter.com/Mdzc2WOxGw
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 16, 2021
Jalen Brunson led the scoring list with 25 points, while LeBron James was right behind him with 24 points. Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 23 points and 20 points for Dallas. Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis finished off with a double-double for the Lakers. The hero for the “City of Angels”, Austin Reaves, dropped a career-high 15 points on a 5-6 shooting from deep. The undrafted rookie also contributed with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal for 32 minutes of play.
Game-Winner. Career-High. Austin Reaves. pic.twitter.com/vBpm4W7yfU
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 16, 2021
