Lakers at Maviericks
The Los Angeles Lakers snapped one losing streak last time out and will try to end another Sunday afternoon when they open a three-game road trip against the Dallas Mavericks. Louis Williams scored 27 points as the Lakers defeated Indiana 108-96 on Friday to halt a five-game slide, but they have not beaten the Mavericks in 12 consecutive meetings.
Los Angeles put together a solid defensive effort Friday, taking control in the third quarter with a 35-22 edge, and made 14 of their 33 attempts from behind the arc to win for just the sixth time in 27 games. “We’ve played this well before,” Lakers coach Luke Walton told reporters. “How long can we maintain it? How long before this is just how we play basketball? That comes with guys just getting time together.” Dallas has been playing better after a slow start, but dropped its second straight Friday with a 112-107 overtime setback against Utah. The Mavericks didn’t only lose the game, they saw guard J.J. Barea (12.2 points per game) go down with a calf injury that will keep him out indefinitely.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles), FSN Southwest Plus (Dallas)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (16-31): Los Angeles produced a strong performance without second-leading scorer D’Angelo Russell (14.3), who left the game after one minute Friday due to calf and knee injuries. Russell did not make the trip to Texas for this one and swingman Luol Deng (wrist) is questionable, but forward Larry Nance Jr. (knee) might begin getting minutes after missing the last 16 contests. Williams leads the team in scoring (18.0) and Julius Randle (13.3) pulls down a team-high 8.5 rebounds for the Lakers, who give up 110.2 points per contest and allow opponents to shoot 48 percent from the field – worst in the league.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (14-29): Barea has played just 18 games this season, averaging 12.5 points in four contests before his latest injury, and told reporters: “Yeah, this is awful. I’m playing great basketball. I’m having so much fun out there. We’re winning games.” Harrison Barnes had 19 points in the loss to Utah and leads the team in scoring (20.5) while Wesley Matthews (15.0) and Deron Williams (13.7) also contribute. Veteran Dirk Nowitzki chips in 13 points per game, but went 1-of-13 from the field Friday and is 2-of-13 from behind the arc in the last three contests.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Williams is averaging 9.6 assists over the last five games for the Mavericks, raising his team-leading mark to 7.1.
2. Los Angeles rookie F Brandon Ingram scored 15 in each of the last two games – only the second time he recorded that much in back-to-back outings.
3. Dallas G Seth Curry is 18-of-29 from the field and 8-of-13 from 3-point range over the last three contests.