5 best 2019 moments for Los Angeles Lakers
By Amaar Burton
2. LeBron vs. Luka in an overtime thriller
The only somewhat legitimate knock on the Los Angeles Lakers’ hot start in 2019-20 is that they haven’t played the toughest schedule. (An ironic criticism when it comes from those who bashed LeBron James for years because he played in the allegedly weak Eastern Conference.)
If you believe the Lakers aren’t as good as their record indicates, then you could use the schedule to explain why they haven’t been in a lot of close games in the first part of the season.
The best game L.A. has played from an entertainment standpoint was on the road against the upstart Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 1, another national TV contest.
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It turned into a 1-on-1 shootout between LeBron James and Luka Doncic, the Mavs’ 20-year-old sensation.
Doncic put up 31 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists. LeBron finished with 39 points, 12 rebounds and 16 assists. Doncic became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double with at least 30 points and 15 assists. LeBron, at 34 years old, became the oldest to do it. And it happened in the same game.
Beyond the stats, the game itself was a thriller.
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Dallas had a 10-point lead with about nine minutes to go in the fourth quarter. LeBron guided L.A.’s comeback, putting the Lakers ahead with four minutes to go on a coast-to-coast power dunk.
The Lakers were up by one with 30 seconds left before Dallas’ Dorian Finney-Smith knocked down a 3-pointer on an assist from Doncic to give the Mavericks the lead. A free throw put Dallas up by three with six seconds remaining.
LeBron then drove baseline and found Danny Green in the corner for a 3-pointer that beat the regulation buzzer to force overtime.
In the extra frame, Anthony Davis and LeBron scored the first seven points to essentially put the game away. The two veteran superstars took over in overtime to thwart the young Mavs, but the table was set for what could be an entertaining rivalry in the future.
On Dec. 1 in L.A., the Mavs handed the Lakers only their third loss of the season and snapped L.A.’s 10-game win streak.
For the Lakers, that first Dallas meeting was one of the first early-season moments in which this team really showed championship mettle and delivered on a big stage.