After careful inspection, the sun still rose and set on Sunday. However, Sunday was not particularly a good day for the Dallas
Mavericks.
Things started well for the Mavs as they were flexing their muscles and leading the Los Angeles Lakers, 48-21, less than five minutes into the second quarter. But the waters got muddied from there as the Lakers opened up the floodgates and outscored the Mavs, 90-60, the rest of the game en route to pulling off an improbable 111-108 victory.
It was a ‘whatever could go wrong did go wrong’ for the Mavs during the balance of the game.
“We lost our rhythm in the sense of just playing our game and not worrying about the other elements,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Our rhythm there in the first two-and-a-half (quarters), we were playing at a high level on both ends, offensively and defensively. Then, we just got a little distracted with the whistle. We’ve just got to be better with that.”
Sunday’s loss conjured up horrific memories of Dec. 6, 2002 when the Mavs were hammering the Lakers in Los Angeles by 27 points entering the fourth quarter. But the Lakers rallied and won, 105-103, in dramatic fashion after pulling off at the time what was the second-biggest fourth-quarter comeback in the history of the NBA.
Kobe Bryant tallied 21 points in a fourth quarter that saw the Lakers outscore the Mavs, 44-15, while also converting 16-of-18 field goals.
Fast forward to 2023, Sunday’s blown 27-point lead ties for the third-largest blown lead in the Mavs’ franchise history. According to ESPN Stats and Information, teams leading by 27 or more points this season were 138-0 entering Sunday’s games.
“What the Lakers just showed us is (in the race to the championship) it’s not the rabbit who wins,” Kidd said. “It’s the turtle.
“They worked the game and that’s what we have to get to. We have to get better at working the game, and we will.”
Here are the three takeaways from the three-point loss to the Lakers.
PROTECT THE RIM: The Mavs’ inability to protect the rim was part of the reason they were unable to emerge from Sunday’s game with a win. The Lakers outscored the Mavs in the paint, 62-32. The Mavs were a respectable 16-of-36 from the floor inside the paint, while the Lakers were a resounding 31-of-52. The Lakers also outscored the Mavs in second-chance points, 18-10. By the way, the Lakers were just 11-of-45 outside of the painted area, while the Mavs were 23-of-57 from the perimeter.
ALL ABOUT THE REBOUNDS: In the first half, the Mavs were doing their thing on the boards and perfecting one of the most important stats in the game — rebounds. At that juncture, the Mavs were outrebounding the Lakers by a 31-26 margin. That was one of the reasons the 
Mavs held a 61-47 lead at the half. But in the second half there was a seismic shift in the game and in the rebounding totals. The Lakers outscored the Mavs after halftime, 64-47, and also outrebounded them, 30-17. In addition, the Lakers had 17 offensive rebounds to 11 for the Mavs.
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY MISSED: The Mavs missed a golden opportunity to put a little more distance between themselves and the surging Lakers. Instead of hanging onto that 27-point lead and getting out of American Airlines Center with a win, the No. 6-seeded Mavs (32-30) are now only two-and-a-half games ahead of the No. 12-seeded Lakers (29-32). A victory by the Mavs would have put them four-and-a-half games ahead of the Lakers, including putting them four games ahead of the Lakers in the loss column.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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