Lakers at Mavericks
The Los Angeles Lakers were one of the bigger participants in the trade deadline dealings on Thursday, bringing in veterans Channing Frye and Isaiah Thomas from the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Lakers hope to have the two in uniform when they try to extend their winning streak to five straight at the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
Thomas was an MVP candidate with the Boston Celtics last season but was traded to Cleveland over the summer, underwent hip surgery and never quite fit in with his new team. Thomas, who is set to be a free agent, will reportedly start for his new team and was given some assurances that the team would fit his style. "Once he spoke to (Lakers president of basketball operations) Magic (Johnson) and (general manager) Rob (Pelinka), he was ecstatic about the opportunity," Thomas' agent, Aaron Goodwin, told USA Today. "It's clear that he'll get a chance to play, and play up-tempo like he has played throughout his career. And that's all we can ask for. That was our biggest concern." The Mavericks didn't make quite as big a splash at the deadline and limp home losers of seven of the last eight after finishing off a four-game road trip with a 121-103 loss at Golden State on Thursday.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles), FS Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (23-31): Los Angeles is hoping the addition of Thomas does little to upset a chemistry that has been building of late with small forward Brandon Ingram taking on a larger role in the offense. The 20-year-old is serving as the primary playmaker with rookie point guard Lonzo Ball (knee) out and is showing how efficient he can be while averaging 19.3 points on 56 percent shooting and 6.5 assists in four games this month. "Our guys had definitely found a nice groove together, counting on each other," Lakers coach Luke Walton told reporters. "But, this is part of it. Whether we struggle or not until we figure it out, that's part of the learning curve too. We've been having success because we've been competing our tails off, trusting each other, making extra passes. And we can do that no matter who is playing. That's more of a mind-set and an attitude to have."
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (17-38): Dallas could have its newest acquisition, small forward Doug McDermott, available after he was acquired from New York in a three-team deal that sent point guard Devin Harris away. The Mavericks could use some help on the wing with leading scorer Harrison Barnes (18.4 points) nursing an ankle injury that kept him out the last two games. Dallas got another solid performance from future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki -- 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 11 rebounds, five steals -- on Thursday but did not have quite enough at the defensive end to keep up with Golden State as it remained in last place in the Western Conference.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Lakers rookie SG Josh Hart is averaging 11 rebounds over the last four games.
2. Mavericks rookie PG Dennis Smith Jr. scored 22 points on Thursday after failing to reach 20 in the previous eight games.
3. Los Angeles earned a 107-101 overtime win in Dallas on Jan. 13 behind 23 points and 15 rebounds from PF Julius Randle.