When the Los Angeles Lakers took an early lead on Christmas Day versus the Dallas Mavericks and were up 54-43 at halftime, it looked like they had a good chance of getting a much-needed win.
But everything fell apart for them in the third quarter.
Los Angeles gave up a whopping 51 points in that period, as the Mavs got red-hot from 3-point range. The Lakers made a bit of a run in the fourth quarter, coming to within 10, but they couldn’t get enough stops to truly threaten Dallas, who won 124-115.
LeBron James had a big game offensively, but in the end, he simply didn’t get much help.
LeBron James: A-
James had 38 points on 13-of-23 shooting from the field, and unlike what has transpired for much of this season so far, he got to the free throw line quite often, making all 12 of his foul shots.
One area of concern for James is his 3-point shot. He missed all four of his attempts from that distance on Sunday, and he came into the contest shooting just 31.4 percent from downtown on the season.
Thomas Bryant: B-
In 19 minutes, Bryant made 4-of-5 shots and scored eight points, but overall he was quiet relative to what he has done this season. He also had just three rebounds, and the Lakers could’ve used more from him in that department, as they gave up 11 offensive boards.
In a strange turn of events, Bryant exited the game with 4:04 left in the third quarter and never returned. Los Angeles went with an extremely small lineup when James was resting in the fourth period that consisted of five guards and wings on the floor at the same time. Head coach Darvin Ham said after the game that he used that type of lineup to try to up-tempo the game, but it didn’t work.
Patrick Beverley: C+
Beverley has been shooting better of late, but he reverted back to his ineffective self on Sunday. He went 2-of-5 overall and 1-of-3 from deep, and defensively, he found himself matched up on Luka Doncic at times, but he wasn’t able to contain him. The Slovenian native had a very efficient 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists to pace Dallas.
Dennis Schroder: C
Schroder was quiet against the Mavs, and the Lakers needed much more from him. He shot 3-of-6 from the field, giving him just seven points, to go along with five rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes.
Lonnie Walker IV: C+
Walker is another player who was too passive on Sunday. He scored just nine points in 29 minutes, although he did do a good job from 3-point land, hitting 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Wenyen Gabriel: B-
The Lakers can always count on Gabriel to play as hard as anyone and make a nice effort to go after the ball. He had seven rebounds, three of them coming on the offensive boards, but offensively, he was ineffective, as he missed all three of his shot attempts and went just 2-of-4 from the free throw line.
Troy Brown Jr.: D
Brown was 1-of-5 overall and 1-of-3 from downtown, and he is starting to become somewhat of a liability on both ends of the floor. He finished with two points, two rebounds and two steals in 18 minutes.
Russell Westbrook: B+/A-
Westbrook shot 7-of-16, which isn’t the greatest shooting percentage in the world, but he made up for it by committing zero turnovers.
At times, he was too passive offensively, especially when Dallas made its big run in the third quarter. But he did attack the basket later on, and he also hit from the outside, going 2-of-5 from downtown.
Westbrook finished with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes.
Austin Reaves: B+/A-
Reaves went 5-of-7 from the field overall, 1-of-2 from 3-point range and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. As usual, he did a good job of attacking the basket, which allowed him to finish with 16 points, along with two rebounds and two blocked shots in 29 minutes.
Damian Jones, Kendrick Nunn, Max Christie: Incomplete
Jones, Nunn and Christie came in toward the end of the game when the outcome had been decided long ago. Jones scored three points, all on free throws, while Nunn and Christie had two points apiece.
