Luka vs. the Mavericks: Observations from the First Showdown

A fun game, but everyone was glad to get this one out of their system

Photo by Sean M. Haffey

This was probably the most anticipated game of the season, but by the end, it felt like everyone was just relieved to have it behind them.

It was a strange and intense night, the next chapter in the Luka Dončić trade saga and the first true battle between these two teams on the court. After the game, the main character, Dončić, admitted that the emotions got to him, saying he barely remembered most of it and, at times, didn’t even know what he was doing.

It felt like everyone involved was just looking to get through the night without embarrassment rather than trying to put on a show. Jason Kidd and the Mavericks came in with an aggressive game plan against Dončić, determined not to let him be the reason they lost. They threw constant doubles at him, making sure there would be no signature Dončić explosion to haunt them. On the other side, Dončić just seemed happy to get this night over with and walk away with a W over his ex-team.

In my preview, I wrote that while tactics would play a role, they wouldn’t decide this game. Energy and force would. But both teams wanted this win badly and played hard. So, in the end, though, tactics and more talent tilted it in the Lakers’ favor.

The Lakers won the first battle in what has quickly become the NBA’s best rivalry. It’s hard not to look ahead to the next showdown in Dallas on April 9th, especially if the Mavericks regain their edge—their superpower—by then with the return of the biggest frontline in the league.

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Today’s notes:

1. Everyone else but Luka (🎞️VIDEO)

2. The fighting Mavericks and their dependence on the three-point shot

3. LeBron’s fourth-quarter takeover (🎞️VIDEO)

4. Dorian Finney-Smith making winning clutch plays (🎞️VIDEO)

5. See you in the next, much different war

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1—Everyone else but Luka (🎞️VIDEO)

The Mavericks opened the game with a clear plan to, in J.J. Redick's words, 'junk up the game' with blitzes, doubling or sometimes even tripling Dončić from the very first possession. Early on, after he knocked down his second consecutive three-pointer, it seemed like this was going to be one of those Dončić nights when even blitzes wouldn’t matter, forcing Kidd into an early timeout. But during the break, one of Dončić’s threes was taken off the board after a review showed he had stepped out of bounds before the shot, and his shotmaking cooled off after that. The agressive plan worked, as relentless doubles disrupted Dončić’s rhythm, holding him to just 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting.

More specifically, the plan worked in limiting Dončić’s scoring, but the defensive attention reached extreme levels at times. Staying patient, he picked apart the Mavericks' defense, consistently finding the open—or more often, wide-open—teammate.

Dončić finished with a 19-point, 15-rebound, 12-assist triple-double while committing just two turnovers. The Lakers capitalized on the wide-open looks Dončić created, shooting 8-of-16 from three off his passes, but just 2-of-17 on all other three-point attempts. With Dončić orchestrating early, the Lakers built a 16-point first-half lead. But as they have all season, the Mavericks kept fighting and turned it into a tightly contested game until the final moments.

2-The fighting Mavericks and their dependence on the three-point shot

Aside from a few flashes, this was an ugly offensive game on both sides for the most part. For the Mavericks, no one but Kyrie Irving and Max Christie could make a shot in the first half, as Dallas went just 7-of-21 from three. As I predicted in the preview, the Lakers dared anyone but Irving, Thompson, and Christie to take and make open threes, and Dante Exum especially struggled with that early on.

But the Mavericks kept fighting and made a run in the second half. Klay Thompson found his rhythm, scoring 17 points after the break, Irving continued to produce, and Dallas shot 10-of-23 from three in the second half. After Dončić manipulated the blitzes in the first half, the Lakers grew impatient in the third quarter. Redick described their approach as 'undisciplined spacing,' which led to far more contested three-point attempts than they had in the first half. The Lakers ended the night shooting just 11-of-40 from three, finishing at 27 percent.

The downfall for the undersized Mavericks was their finishing in the paint, where they shot just 13-of-41 (38 percent). Without Irving, that number dropped to a brutal 7-of-25. P.J. Washington had one of his worst games as a Maverick, going scoreless on 0-of-9 shooting, while Christie struggled finishing inside, going just 1-of-7 as he found it tough to score over Jaxson Hayes at the rim.

3-LeBron’s fourth-quarter takeover (🎞️VIDEO)

The Mavericks fought hard to climb back, but without Anthony Davis, they simply didn’t have the star power to match the Lakers in the end. LeBron James, who had been relatively quiet until that point, took over in the fourth quarter, scoring 16 points in the final period. With Dončić, Reaves, and James, the Lakers had three players who could take turns handling the ball and applying pressure. Meanwhile, Exum and Spencer Dinwiddie were too inefficient to fill that gap for the Mavericks and provide much-needed relief for Irving.

LeBron’s takeover down the stretch was reminiscent of some of Irving’s past performances, where Dončić carrying the bulk of the ball-handling and playmaking duties gave him the 'luxury' to conserve energy for a late-game surge. With his shot not falling, Dončić was more than happy to focus on organizing the offense, creating advantages, and setting up James in key moments of the game.

4-Dorian Finney-Smith making winning clutch plays