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LOS ANGELES — The harsh demands of the NBA’s regular-season schedule looked like they caught up with the Lakers on Wednesday night.
Playing their third game in four nights and sixth in nine days, there was a notable energy and precision dropoff in their 104-101 home loss to the Dallas Mavericks compared to Tuesday’s In-Season Tournament victory over the Utah Jazz.
The defensive rebounding wasn’t crisp in the first three quarters (nine offensive rebounds allowed in the first 36 minutes). The shotmaking waned, including several missed layups.
They weren’t as effective with getting in the passing lanes and forcing turnovers as they had been over the past 1½ weeks – an area where the absence of Cam Reddish (left adductor soreness) was most felt.
Still, the Lakers, the league’s best fourth-quarter team entering Wednesday, did what they’ve done best so far this season: play their best basketball in the final frame.
The Lakers, who trailed 91-71 to begin the fourth quarter, erased their 20-point deficit when Austin Reaves hit a floater to tie the score at 99-all with less than two minutes remaining. One possession later, LeBron James tipped in a putback off Reaves’ missed floater to punctuate a 30-8 run and give the Lakers a 101-99 lead with 1:16 left – their first lead since 23-21 in the first quarter.
But they didn’t close out from there. After Luka Doncic and James traded missed 3-point attempts in the final minute, Kyrie Irving made a go-ahead 3-pointer to give the Mavericks a 102-101 lead with 22 seconds left. James attempted to assist Anthony Davis on the Lakers’ ensuing possession but Doncic tipped the pass to force a turnover with four seconds left.
Irving made a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 104-101 with three seconds left. James missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer from the corner as time expired to seal the loss for the Lakers (9-7), just their second defeat in nine home games this season.
The Lakers, who had won six of seven games over the past two weeks, missed five of their six free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter.
James finished with 26 points (16 in the fourth), nine rebounds and seven assists in 36 minutes. Reaves had 17 points (7-of-14 shooting), six assists and six rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench. D’Angelo Russell added 15 points and five assists while Davis had 10 points (four of 10), 13 rebounds and four assists.
Dončić (30 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists) and Irving (28 points, six rebounds) combined for 58 points for the Mavericks (10-5), who missed 16 of their 19 shots in the fourth quarter. Josh Green added 15 points off the bench.
The Lakers will get a couple of days off before starting a four-game road trip against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.
More to come on this story.
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