LAKERS -at- MAVS - 4-9-25 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Doncic Does Dallas... Emotional night. Luka was in tears before tipoff. Then, somehow he flipped the switch and took it to his former team.

“After that video, I was like there is no way I’m playing this game,” Luka said.

With the Mavs crowd buzzing and cheering every time Luka touched the ball to start, the first quarter was packed with some back and forth action. The Lakers shot themselves in the foot in the process with 5 turnovers. Still, Luka dropped 14 points in the quarter against his former team and had it rolling early.

The Lakers trailed 30-26 after the first. But they’d take the second quarter. Luka bombed threes, set up teammates, got to the rim for easy layups, drew FTs as the Lakers edged out to a small 6-point lead late in the first half.

“Fire, Nico!” chants were frequented throughout the game.

By halftime, Luka had 31 points, his biggest scoring half of the season, and the Lakers led 60-57.

The Lakers had a 9-0 run early in the second half to go up 13 as Rui started finishing off plays from the perimeter or inside. The Mavs caught up and tied the game in the fourth while Luka rested on the bench.

JJ took a timeout and brought Luka back in. The LeBron/Rui/DFS/Luka/Reaves lineup took control. The team rattled off a 9-0 run and didn’t look back.

Laker defense in the second half locked in. The small ball consistently fronted and sent help to keep AD (13 points/6 assists) in check They held the Mavs to 40 points combined in the third and fourth, and the Lakers won 112-97 behind 45 points from Luka.

“Everybody had my back from coaches to players,” Luka said.

Great road win from the Lakers after the tough loss last night.


LeBron -- -- JJ mentioned Bron’s defensive energy in this game. Great two-way game. Bron got the AD assignment defensively to start. Basically, Bron could muscle with AD to keep him out of the post. They’d have to pull AD up high to set a screen to get the switch, but now AD was out of the paint and we’d front or send help when he’d get low again. You’d expect some adjustments here with maybe some quick-hit high-lows in the second half for AD. We saw one clean one finally to start the fourth with Bron fronting and AD got an easy one. Offensively, he had some big finishes at the rim in the late in the game. He lulled his man to sleep, spun baseline and scored an And-1 layup. Another one cutting behind AR to take a pass for a layup. Another on a putback on a Rui miss. Another blowing by a big for a layup. He followed up that layup with a great defensive stand on the other end. DFS was fronting AD, Bron hedged over. AD took the ball and Bron instantly doubled, forcing a pass by AD (who didn’t find the open man on a skip), Bron quickly returned to his man and then grabbed an airball rebound. That’s how you do it. On the other end, he’d dive off Reaves in the paint for another And-1 layup. The Stats: He scored 27 points on 11-20 shooting (0-4 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a +18.

Luka -- -- He teared up with the tribute video before the game. Loud cheers for Luka as he touched the ball. His first bucket, he attacked and hit a pull-up in the lane. Big cheers when he scored a layup in transition and then shortly later hit a corner three over a big on a relocation. Fans tried to get an M-V-P chant going for him at the freethrow line. The freethrows weren’t falling, but everything else was. He finished the first half with 31 points on 11-16 shooting, making 6-8 from three. He also added 3 steals. Fourth quarter, he had a crazy deceleration on a drive where he flipped a reverse high off the glass and in. That capped off a 9-0 Laker run that took control of the game with 3 minutes left. He rattled in a dagger three with 2 minutes left to go up 14. He’d drive and score a layup next play down and got a standing O as the Mavs called a timeout. Ball game over. Masterful performance from Luka. The crowd cheering “Luka…Luka…” after that. Laker teammates were cheering along with them. Thank you, Nico. “I thought he was going to get 50. Disappointed,” JJ joked. Luka said before the game, he was both happy and angry to be back. Emotionally draining game. He said he’s exhausted. The Stats: He scored 45 points on 16-28 shooting (7-10 from three, 6-9 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 6 assists, 4 steals, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 38 minutes. He was a +26.

Reaves -- -- Martin did a good job defensively on him early, denying the ball, and then staying tight with Reaves on drives. AR had a putback jam on a missed Laker three where he stared at the bench like “did I just get that?” He’d score another layup on a drive shielding off AD and he’d blow by another big for a layup. Only three attempt in the first half from him was a grenade Rui dropped on him where AR heaved it up and missed badly trying to beat the shotclock. He’d have 8 points at the half on four shots. First shot of the second half was set up for him and he missed the three. They gave him another grenade that hit the top of the backboard trying to beat the shtoclock. He finally hit a three with 5:40 left to go for his only bucket of the second half. That was a big one, for sure. Some excellent passes to Bron cutting behind him for scores at the rim late in the game. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-10 shooting (1-5 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 38 minutes. He was a +19.

Hachimura -- -- He knocked down three threes tonight. He hit a big pull-up in the lane on the two-man with Luka out of a timeout with the score tied in the fourth quarter. Being able to throw out some big bodies with Bron/Rui/DFS that can hit threes is huge for the team. The Lakers won the offensive board battle 15-9 despite the length of the Mavs. Having one bigman able to body up opposing bigs with guards cracking back or vice versa, kept the second chances to a minimum. He actually outscored AD tonight, who had 13 points on 13 shots. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-10 shooting (3-7 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 38 minutes. He was a +21.

Hayes -- -- Just 14 minutes in this game. Our other starter was really DFS, who played 33 minutes. His one bucket was a layup on a drive and dish from Bron. Some good effort on the offensive glass. He also hit the floor to tie up AD on a loose ball. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards (3 offensive), 2 steals and 2 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a -9.

Finney-Smith -- -- Back-to-back screens by DFS led to Luka layups, he’d screen up high, roll to the hoop, then screen off the help defender for Luka to walk in for the scores. High five from Luka after that sequence as they went to timeout. We used to run that for the guys way back in the championship season. It’s a Luka staple. Screen assists there and some nice passing assists, including a drive and no-look dish to Vando for a dunk. He also found Rui on a kickout for a three. Our small ball works when we have that Bron/Rui/DFS backline out there, who can also pull the opposing bigs out to the three line on the offensive end. DFS and Bron really read to the defensive rotations with speed. He led the team with the +29. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-8 shooting (1-6 from three) to go with 5 boards (4 offensive), 5 assists, 1 steal and no fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +29.

Vincent -- -- The smaller Laker guards struggled a little in this one. Gabe an an awful airball on one shot. His one make was a floater late in the third that was much needed. Defensively, there was a great sequence early on where you saw his strength on the switch against AD. AD couldn’t really back him down and settled for about a 12-foot jumphook miss. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-5 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 1 board in 17 minutes. He was a -16.

Vanderbilt -- -- Felt like he kept more offensive boards alive than 2 in his short minutes. On one of those, he knocked the offensive board away from behind a big, grabbed it and hit LeBron for a layup while Vando fell to the floor. His only bucket was a dunk off a drive and dish from DFS. Shortly later,he stole a ball at midcourt and that led to an AR to Bron lob dunk highlight play. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-4 shooting to go with 5 boards (2 offensive), 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 foul in 13 minutes. He was a -9.

Knecht -- -- Out of rotation in this game. Came in for garbage time. He got a nice drive and dish from Bronny for a dunk. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 2-2 shooting in 1 minute. He was a -1.

Goodwin -- -- In late in the second quarter briefly, so in the rotation tonight during key moments. He had a couple of steals, one on a Max kickout and the other stripping the ball from Max under the hoop. He’s basically the guy we got to replace Max’s spot as that bigger defensive guard. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting from three to go with 2 boards, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 8 minutes. He was a -2.

Bronny -- -- He came in for Luka as we took a foul to allow Luka to get some more flowers. Great looking drive and no-looker to DK for a dunk. The Stats: He had 1 assist and 1 foul in 1 minute. He was a +0.

Jemison -- -- Nothing to report in his 90 seconds of action. The Stats: No stats in 1 minute. He was a -1.

Redick -- -- On Luka: “To have the emotional resolve to then go put on that kind of performance, it’s super human. And I think all his teammates know that, too,” Redick said… Defensively, the Lakers switched everything and fronted the post and sent backside help to deal with the size advantage of the Mavs. Just a great job by the team. Some of the best small ball D against length you will see… Great timeout in the fourth with the score tied to get Luka in and we took control of the game from there. Great job having Luka go back out for a take foul and subbed out for Bronny to have a moment… Love the smirk on his face late in the game after a crazy offensive sequence of circus passes that ended up in Bron throwing a no-look shot toward the basket to try to beat the shotclock… He said this game had a chance to bring the team closer together with how they rallied behind Luka and supported him. But also said, you never know about those things…

[P.K.]

First!!
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Never argue with a fool - listeners can't tell you apart
Wilt's unstoppable fadeaway: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O9MgNfcGJA
NPZ's Magic Johnson mix: www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8Qbo0WqvOI

[slavavov]

Give the Lakers credit for being focused and intent, not just in this game but in their last few games.

I love how coach Redick said afterward that he's thinking about and wants the third seed.
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Lakers 49ers Chargers Dodgers

[Dr. Laker]

Thanks, DB.
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On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".

[A Mad Chinaman]

Big Laker Moment(s)!!!!

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB! These T&Rs are the best.

What an excellent win. Lakers toughed out a cold shooting stretch in Q3 that had me worried, but stout defense is a great antidote for cold streaks.

THIS was a must-win game. Lakers executed on their game plan. Well done.

Houston next. Here's hoping the Lakers kick their butts whether or not the Rockets rest their starters.

Well done Lakers!

[danzag]

Let's go!!!!!

[Nobody]

Gutsy effort and great win! Luka was something else, which was also great to see, because I worried he might have the jitters.

Go Lakers!

[Laker7]

Thanks DB! great win. One more and we clinch the three seed in the wild western conference.
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Lets go Lakers!

[pio2u]

Thx DB!

[ribeye]

Yeah, why not:

LeBron --
Luka --
DB --
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Hey Doge, ever hear of “measure twice, cut once?” It is not cut first and measure later.

[LFsnz67]

It needs to be said again what a fine job rookie coach JJ is doing managing a constantly changing situation and getting them to play defense

[lakerjoshua]

Man, what a game! Thanks DB!

[ribeye]

[jodeke]

[ribeye]

[A Mad Chinaman]

[quote="ribeye"][quote="LFsnz67"]It needs to be said again what a fine job rookie coach JJ is doing managing a constantly changing situation and getting them to play defense[/quote]I'll second, third and even tenth that. We know and appreciate just how good Jax was, but it is hard to imagine even he was this good, certainly as a communicator and strategist, his first season.[/quote]J.J. and Jax (Phil Jackson) have these things (among many others) that they keep players accountable and the confidence of the top to the last player on the bench of their well-thought out strategic strategies.

Wanted to share "some flowers" to them, while not "putting shade" on Vogel or Ham who have a different way of coaching that will hopefully will be developed/transitioned/transformed to a higher level.
Note: With Malone and Taylor Jenkins (maybe Coach Bud), along with the large number of promising assistant head coaches withing for their opportunities, will Ham or Vogel get an opportunity with a legitimate title-contending team?

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB. I watched the team chemistry increase last night. Luka's emotional return galvanized the team. He knows the Lakers have his back.

I know this season is basically playing with house money, but I am expecting a deep playoff run and would not be shocked one bit if they bring Lil Larry back home.

[Hanging from Rafters]

[focus]

This seems to be a big win. Why vs a lesser team that did not even have Kyrie and in which AD did not make much impact, and where the most emotional Luka overcame that and had 45 points...why did we struggle to separate until the last six minutes?
If Luka had 11 points and played poorly, I could understand a championship level team doing that. He had 45. They are not the Celtics or OKC.
Given 45, this seems like it should have been a blowout.

[hype]

[focus]

[jodeke]

[jodeke]