Bleeding = Stopped
As I’m sure everyone was expecting, the Dallas Mavericks (21-16) laid an absolute hammer on the Los Angeles Lakers (20-16), winning for the first time in six games by the score of 118-97. The Mavericks’ 118 points is the most they’ve scored since before Christmas. Quentin Grimes led the way with 23 points off the bench, while PJ Washington scored 22. Spencer Dinwiddie had 8 assists to go along with his 19 points, and Jaden Hardy was really great off the bench, scoring 15. Anthony Davis led the way for the Lakers with 21 points. Here are the numbers that stood out!
5: Times the Mavericks have had a double digit lead in their last 7 games
Without Luka Doncic available for each of the last seven games, the Mavs have done well to actually stick themselves to some large leads. That includes three times without Kyrie Irving, in losses against the Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies, before tonight’s contest against the Lakers. They’ve now closed the door on a victory twice out of those five chances. It goes to show that there is still talent here, they just have to continue and work to find ways to close the deal like they did tonight.
21-3: Mavericks run in the middle six minutes
You often hear football coaches talk about the “middle eight” minutes of the game, which is simply just the last four minutes of the 2nd quarter and the first four minutes of the 3rd quarter. The Mavericks owned the middle six minutes of this contest by going on a 21-3 run to catapult themselves in front by 12 at 65-53 early in the 3rd quarter. Spearheaded by Klay Thompson’s nine straight points late in the second frame, this run kept Dallas in it after the Lakers had taken their largest lead of the game at 50-44. This was quality work by the Mavs to steal some momentum coming in and out of the locker room.
+21: Point differential from 3
The shots went in tonight in bunches, led by Quentin Grimes’ six makes from deep. Klay Thompson, PJ Washington and Jaden Hardy made three a piece to really get the Mavs going. After shooting just 41% from the field in Memphis on Monday night, Dallas shot 52% from the floor and 47% (18-for-38) from deep. A palate cleanser!
0: Scooters used by Luka Doncic today
How good was this to see, huh?
Luka Doncic — without a scooter — came out to say hello to old friend Dorian Finney-Smith. pic.twitter.com/DB1BBmHeH0
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) January 7, 2025