Dallas dominates the Lakers with wild margins in the fourth quarter
The Dallas Mavericks made it back-to-back preseason wins with a 121-94 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The Mavericks rallied from a double-digit halftime deficit, 66-53, to improve to 3-1 in the preseason while handing the Lakers their fourth loss.
Dallas outscored Los Angeles 37-8 in the fourth quarter to secure the win. In one move in the final frame, the Mavericks scored 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-5 from long range, while the Lakers had just two points on 10 attempts.
The Mavericks LIT the Lakers in the fourth quarter 🤯
Mavericks:
🔸 23 points
🔸9-of-13 FY
🔸3-of-4 3PTLakers:
🔸2 points
🔸1-of-10 FY
🔸0-of-5 3PT
🔸4 TOV pic.twitter.com/3krHEnREli— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 16, 2025
The Mavericks, who led with as many as 29 points, were led by Anthony Davis with 18 points and nine rebounds and Derek Lively II with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
PJ Washington also contributed with 13 points, five rebounds and six assists, while Cooper Flagg scored 13 pointsincluding a monster slam in the first quarter.
Overall, Dallas shot 50.6% while limiting Los Angeles to just 39.5%.
The Lakers, who committed 17 turnovers, were without LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reeves and DeAndre Ayton, among others. Jared Vanderbilt, meanwhile, exited the game in the second half because of a left quadriceps contusion.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd has always preached the importance of communication, which he said leads to efficiency and cohesion. They definitely showed that against the Lakers.
With Davis entering his first full season in Dallasthe team is expected to strengthen the defense. Even with heavyweights like Washington, Lively, Daniel Gafford and Najib Marshall, the Mavericks were just 20th in the NBA in points allowed last season at 115.4 per game.
Offensively, the Mavericks won’t be lacking, even with Kyrie Irving sidelined with an ACL injury. They have a ton of scorers in Davis, Flagg, Klay Thompson and D’Angelo Russell. Washington and Marshall can also get buckets when needed.
Dallas will wrap up the preseason on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs.
2025-10-16 05:35:00
