Mavericks at Lakers
The streaking Dallas Mavericks aim to record their ninth win in the past 11 games when they visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. The Mavericks blew out the Houston Rockets 128-108 on Wednesday and have also defeated the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder during the hot stretch.
The victory against Houston was Dallas' second road win in 10 chances this season and confidence of the squad is beginning to soar. "If we play our best basketball we can beat anybody," Mavericks guard J.J. Barea told reporters after Wednesday's victory. "We're getting better, we're playing hard and we're being more aggressive on defense. We just got to keep learning every day and keep staying together and see what happens." The Lakers snapped a two-game slide with a 104-96 home win over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday as forward LeBron James scored 38 points, including 12 of the team's final 15. "Just looking to make plays," James said in a postgame television interview. "That's what they brought me here for, to close out games in the fourth quarter and that's what my teammates look for me to do late in the game."
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (Dallas), Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (10-9): Part of Dallas' improvement - the squad won 24 games all last season - can be tied to 19-year-old forward Luka Doncic, who scored 20 points against the Rockets for his 10th 20-point effort of the campaign. The third overall pick has scored in double digits in every game while averaging 19.1 points and 6.5 rebounds, and didn't get dismayed when the Mavericks stumbled 2-7 out of the gate. "We just needed time," Doncic told reporters. "From the beginning I said I wanted to go to the playoffs and we're doing a great job."
ABOUT THE LAKERS (12-9): James made 15-of-27 shots against Indiana in his third-highest scoring output of the season, which follows a season low of 14 in Tuesday's 117-85 blowout loss against the Denver Nuggets. James indicated he was pleased with the defensive effort that saw the Pacers shoot 37.2 percent but one concern was seeing a first-quarter lead of 38-15 dwindle to six points by halftime. Point guard Lonzo Ball played after injuring his ankle against the Nuggets and had two points on 1-of-6 shooting in 34 minutes but collected eight rebounds.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Lakers have won four of the past five meetings - including a 114-113 overtime victory on Oct. 31 - after the Mavericks won the previous 14 encounters.
2. Los Angeles SF Brandon Ingram scored 14 points against the Pacers for his 12th straight double-digit outing.
3. Dallas backup G Devin Harris established season bests of 20 points and five 3-pointers against the Rockets and is averaging 15.7 points over the past three contests.