Luka Doncic may be the league’s future, but LeBron James proves he still runs NBA
Luka Doncic is no doubt one of the brightest, young stars in the NBA.
But LeBron James reminded everyone Friday night who still rules the league.
James led the Los Angeles Lakers to a dominating win over Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks 129-114 at American Airlines Center.
It was the fourth and final regular-season meeting for the teams. The Lakers took three of four, including the last two in convincing fashion.
James finished with a game-high 35 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists as the Lakers won their seventh consecutive game. The Mavs have lost two in a row and three of their past four. They close out a six-game homestand against the Philadelphia 76ers at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Doncic finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists but also committed six turnovers.
“I played really bad. I felt like I don’t know how to play basketball,” said Doncic, who ripped the front of his jersey after missing a free throw near the end of the first half. “It wasn’t me. I gotta get better. A lot. I’m competitor. I got to do better. I know I can get better. There’s a lot of things. I’m 20 years old. I’ve got a lot of things I’ve got to do better. I can learn better, so I’ll get better.”
Rick Carlisle was ejected with 9:49 left in the game after a dubious call in which the refs stopped play after the ball had already been inbounded by Dallas because the Lakers requested a review challenge, which they lost.
“The first half was not good. That’s pretty clear,” Carlisle said. “I thought the third quarter was much better. We got to a point where we cut it down to 10. They responded and we just didn’t have enough in the tank to come back from whatever we were down. Disappointing beginning to the game. We really weren’t good in any area. And they were great. LeBron James was tremendous and all the supporting cast stepped up and played well.”
The Mavs cut the deficit to 10 early in the third quarter but the Lakers held them off and took a 13-point lead into the fourth.
The Lakers scored a season-high 79 points in the first half and led by 21.
Lakers, who were without Anthony Davis, led 45-27 after the first quarter. They scored 24 points in the paint and the most points in any quarter this season for them.
“In a leadership position, you’ve got to stand up for your guys,” said Carlisle, who was calmed by Doncic just before the ejection. “There’s some things going on out there that are quite frankly, shocking. Our guys are going through a rough time because of it. I’ve got to stand up and defend them. That’s another part of my job. And I’m going to do it. And I’ll do it again tomorrow.”
This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 11:27 PM.
