The Dallas Mavericks (19-27) crumbled in the fourth quarter Saturday, in Luka Dončić’s second trip to American Airlines Center in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform, wilting in the face of a late 23-5 run behind two clutch 3-pointers from Rui Hachimura in the 116-110 loss. The Lakers (27-17) got a game-high 33 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists from Dončić in the comeback win.
LeBron James, who had scored just six points through the game’s first three quarters, poured in 11 of his 17 points down the stretch
as the Mavericks’ four-game winning streak, their longest of the 2025-26 season, came to an abrupt halt.
Max Christie led the Mavericks with 24 points on four made 3-pointers in the loss, while Naji Marshall added 21 points and 11 rebounds. Brandon Williams contributed 20 off the bench in the loss as well.
Luka on the hunt
Dončić missed his first 3-point attempt of the game, then pulled his patented step-back out of his bag while being defended by Naji Marshall with 5:30 left in the first quarter to tie the game at 16-16. Three possessions later he hit another vintage step-back 3-ball from the left wing to give the Lakers a 21-18 advantage. Dončić led Los Angeles with 12 points on 2-of-3 shooting from 3-point range and four assists in the first quarter as the Lakers led 37-28 after one.
Dončić snuck into the lane and scored a cheap one over Marshall for his first bucket of the second quarter to put the Lakers up 50-38 midway through the frame. He came into the game leading the league in free-throw attempts this year and made nine of his 10 attempts from the stripe in the first half on his way to a game-high 17 points to go along with seven assists and six boards.
Dončić absorbed the contact in the lane for a driving bucket through Daniel Gafford, his first of the third, to pull LA to within 72-71, before canning his third 3-ball of the night a minute later to pull the Lakers back in front, 74-72, still early in the third quarter.
Hunting Luka
Dončić’s hot start on offense didn’t stop the Mavericks from hunting him on the defensive end, though.
Flagg drove and dished after getting Luka Dončić switched onto him early in the first, finding Christie open for a 3-pointer out on the right wing to put the Mavericks up 9-7. Flagg rose up over Dončić two possessions later for a mid-range pull-up jumper to extend the early lead to 11-7. The Lakers settled into a two-three zone after the Mavs’ early success hunting Luka on the offensive end, which seemed to stall the Mavs’ momentum a little. All five of Dallas’ first-quarter turnovers came in the frame’s last 5:40, after the Lakers switched to the zone defense.
The Mavs turned the ball over four more times in the first 6:20 of the second quarter, further disrupting the offensive rhythm Dallas established early on by hunting matchups against Dončić. Dončić had trouble keeping Mavericks attackers in front of him throughout the third quarter as well, as Dallas stormed back with a 16-4 run to start the second half.
Coop and Christie
So much of this season has been searching out which of Flagg’s teammates complement the rookie sensation’s game. Saturday’s game gave us further proof that Christie is absolutely one of those guys. They just play off one another well.
Christie was the Mavericks’ saving grace in the second quarter, as he pump-faked and shuffled to his right for his third 3-pointer of the game to pull Dallas to within 46-38 with 7:46 left before the half. He bailed the Mavs out late in the shot clock with a jumper over James midway through the second to keep Dallas connected, down 50-40. He sprinted out in transition along the right wing and finished the break with a dunk assisted by Flagg to give him 13 points to that point. Flagg found him wide open under the basket as Dončić lost Christie on defense the next time down to give him a team-high 15 and pull the Mavs to within 10, down 57-47 with 3:40 left in the first half. Dallas trailed 65-52 at the half.
Christie came into the game scoring better than 17 points per game this January and continued his tear in the second half.
After a silent second quarter, Flagg was more decisive in the third, even if his shot wasn’t falling. He drove through the teeth of the Los Angeles defense for his first score since late in the first quarter on the Mavs’ second possession of the third. Christie found Flagg for a corner 3-pointer with 8:30 left in the third to bring Dallas to within 69-63, before Flagg sucked the LA defense in and found Christie alone in the opposite corner the next time down for Christie’s fourth 3-pointer of the game. The Lakers called a timeout, up 69-66, with 7:56 left in the third.
Flagg got one to go in the lane to see-saw the Mavs back in front, 70-69, before taking a steal the next time down and finding Caleb Martin for a transition score midway through the third to give Dallas a 72-69 advantage. Christie got past James for his first score of the fourth quarter with 8:15 left in the game to put the Mavs ahead 99-85 and give Christie 20 or more points in his fourth-straight game.
Birthday boy
Marshall came into the matchup with the Lakers off one of his best nights in a Mavericks’ uniform in Thursday’s 123-115 win over the Golden State Warriors, when he scored 30 points on 10-of-12 shooting and dished nine dimes in the impressive win. His performance on his 28th birthday on Saturday may have been comparatively muted, but he still pulled more than his weight against LA.
Marshall scored 10 of his 21 points in the first half and pulled down 11 rebounds in the loss. He has been one of the most consistent Mavericks this season and is no doubt one of the team’s most intriguing players as the trade deadline looms, less than two weeks away. He added two more buckets early in the third as the Mavs continued to search for offensive rhythm.
Marshall’s third driving score of the third came as part of a 16-4 run to open the second half and pulled Dallas to within one, 69-68, with 7:30 left in the frame.
B-Will makes waves late
Brandon Williams scored all eight of his third-quarter points in the frame’s final 2:40 to add some fuel to the Mavericks’ third-quarter about-face. He fended off the much bigger Vanderbilt for a banking score with three seconds left in the third to extend the Dallas lead to eight, up 87-79 going into the fourth.
Williams shot 4-of-6 in the third after the Lakers moved back in front, 74-72, on Dončić’s 3-pointer earlier in the frame. The diminutive guard score a three-point play on the Mavericks’ first possession of the fourth, this time over Lakers’ big man Deandre Ayton, to give Williams 20 points on the night.
The next time down, Williams found Martin in the corner for his fourth assist and Martin’s second 3-pointer of the game to extend the Dallas lead to 14, up 93-79, and force a Laker timeout with 10:49 left to play. Martin was also solid for the Mavericks in the win over the Lakers, scoring 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
Collapse
But the Lakers had one more late run left in the tank behind Dončić, James and Hachimura, who nailed two 3-pointers in the game’s final three minutes, including a four-play with 2:15 left to play when P.J. Washington swiped at Hachimura while running under the shot. Hachimura’s second came two possessions later and gave the Lakers back a 108-06 lead, as part of a 23-5 run in the game’s final 7:30.
