LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers take down the Mavericks and spoil Anthony Davis’ first game back at Crypto.com Arena since being traded, beating Dallas 129-119 on Friday night to improve to 14-4 and 4-0 in Cup games.
With the win over Dallas, the Lakers not only push their win streak to six games—which now stands as a season high—but also secure home-court advantage for the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup.
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They will now face the Spurs on Dec. 10 (7 p.m.) in the quarterfinals.
The Lakers’ win was pushed by an explosive two-man performance from Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, who combined for 26 points in the second half and 73 points on the night.
Dončić poured in 17 of his 35 points in the second half, while Reaves had 19 of his game-high 38 points. It was also Reaves’ most efficient shooting game of the season, going 80% from the field and 75% from 3.
The Mavs made an emphasis on trying to keep Dončić from going, doubling him immediately after the opening tip-off. The Lakers came out firing in the first quarter, hitting 11 of their first 20 shots, which created a strong first-quarter lead.
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Dončić found success in the first half, finding the open man when Dallas blitzed him off of every screen he got, which led to him having a team-high 11 assists. The attention on Dončić helped LeBron James find early success off the ball, leading to an early Dončić-to-James lob in the first couple of possessions. James had 13 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
The Lakers cooled down in the second quarter when Dončić was on the bench as the Mavs outscored L.A. 40-32 and took their first lead of the game.
The night saw 14 lead changes as Dallas matched every Dončić and Reaves bucket, mostly from 3, in the second half behind eight Mavericks scoring in double figures.
Their performance led to the Lakers’ Crypto.com Arena home crowd giving them MVP chants at the foul line. Dončić and Reaves combined for 10 of the Lakers’ 18 triples as they finished with a season-high 51.4% from 3.
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The Lakers fans welcomed Anthony Davis and Max Christie with loud cheers when they were announced during the Mavs’ starting lineup. Davis had 12 points, five assists and five rebounds in his return from a 14-game absence.
The Lakers will play the Pelicans next at home on Sunday, followed by the Suns on Monday, before a six-game road trip.
