Lakers get hit by Mavericks’ 3-point barrage, falter in Dallas

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Fresh off their in-season tournament championship, the Lakers were supposed to two-step into Texas and waltz past an injury-riddled Dallas team.

The Mavericks had other ideas.

Dallas blitzed the Lakers with a 3-point barrage and held on for a 127-125 victory Tuesday.

The Lakers’ game plan focused on forcing the ball out of Luka Doncic’s hands, making the All-Star guard give up the ball. The Mavericks’ shooters, however, made the Lakers pay.

Dante Exum scored 26 points and made a career-high seven three-pointers. Grant Williams made five three-pointers, as did Tim Hardaway Jr. The Mavericks made an eye-popping 21 of 43 attempts behind the arc as a team.

“Their role players did a good job of making shots. It’s tough,” Lakers center Anthony Davis said. “You want to make the other guys beat you, and that’s what they did tonight.”

The Mavericks played without All-Star guard Kyrie Irving and were on the second night of a back-to-back situation. It didn’t look like it.

Dallas scored 71 points in the first half after making 12 three-pointers, including four from Hardaway Jr. The Lakers rallied in the third quarter, but simply couldn’t stop Exum in the fourth.

The former lottery pick had an injury-plagued NBA career before playing overseas the last two years. He returned to the NBA this season and filled in capably Tuesday for Irving.

“Tonight was his night,” Lakers Coach Darvin Ham said. “This is a make or miss league and he happened to make them.”

The buzz of the Lakers’ effort last week dimmed a bit Tuesday. They cleaned up in Las Vegas, winning the NBA’s first-ever in-season tournament thanks to Davis and James, but took a slight step back in Dallas.

“You’re so high on the semifinals and the finals of the in-season tournament and then have to get back to the regular season,” said James, who had 33 points and nine assists in a losing effort.

In addition to the Mavericks’ role players stepping up, Doncic put up some big numbers for Dallas, totaling 33 points and 17 assists.

The Lakers were short-handed themselves, playing without Gabe Vincent (knee soreness) and Jarred Vanderbilt (back spasms). Then Davis appeared to aggravate a nagging hip injury late in the second quarter, forcing him to the bench and interrupting his 20-point first half.

Davis returned for the third quarter and even drilled a three-pointer at the end of it to give the Lakers a 95-93 lead. It was his first three-pointer since Oct. 29.

Davis was irritated that the injury flared against Dallas and won’t have much time to heal. The Lakers return to the court quickly, playing in San Antonio on Wednesday.

“I thought I was past the hurdle. Since the Cleveland game [Nov. 25], it’s been fine,” Davis said. “The first time I tweaked it again was Saturday against Indiana. That’s about a three-week stretch where I felt completely fine, completely normal.”

Davis finished with 37 points and 11 rebounds against Dallas.

The Lakers’ next two games are in San Antonio. It’s a rebuilding year for the Spurs, who are 3-19 overall and losers of 17 in a row despite having No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama.