The dust has settled on the NBA landscape since the landmark Luka Dončić-Anthony Davis trade that shook the league. Now, for the first time since the blockbuster deal, the Mavericks and the Lakers will meet Tuesday night in Los Angeles. Since the deal, Dončić has been trying to find his footing, averaging 19.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game on 39% from the floor in four games. The Lakers are 2-2 in those contests, with Dončić putting up his best performance since the trade in Saturday’s win over the Denver Nuggets. Meanwhile, Anthony Davis played just one game for the Mavs — a 26-point, 16-rebound effort — before being sidelined with an adductor strain.
The Lakers are still in the thick of the Western Conference playoff hunt at 34-21 on the season and leading the Pacific Division. Los Angeles is 2 1/2 games back of Memphis and Denver for the No. 2 seed in the West, while Dallas, at 31-27, is tied for seventh in the West with Minnesota and trying to climb out of the play-in tournament during the stretch run.
Date: Feb. 25, 2025
Time: 10 p.m. ET
Location: Crypto.com Arena | Los Angeles
TV channel(s): TNT, TruTV
Streaming: Max, DirecTV, Hulu with Live TV and more
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more.
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Even after that Max Christie-fueled closing kick, the Mavs end the first half scoring one point per possession. If that holds up, it’d be tied for Dallas’ fourth-worst offensive performance of the season, according to Cleaning the Glass …
Kyrie Irving: 18 points (6-of-14 shooting) Max Christie: 10 points (4-of-9 shooting) Every other Mavericks player: 23 points (8-of-29 shooting)
What was a sizable Lakers lead has been cut to 59-51 after Max Christie made a run on both ends. The Mavs are competitive, it just doesn’t feel like they have enough offense to make the Lakers sweat.
HALFTIME: Lakers 59, Mavericks 51
A 12-4 run for the Mavericks to end the half cuts the deficit down to single digits. Still got a lot of work to do to spoil the narrative tonight.
LeBron James now has seven points after nearly a full half, and the Lakers are up by 15. That should scare teams.
Luka’s on his way to a first-half triple-double with 12 points, 11 boards and 7 assists. And it feels easy. Also, the chants of “thank you, Nico” are getting louder.
Mavericks GM Nico Harrison is in the house and receiving a warm reception.
The Mavericks have 39 points in 40 possessions and the guy they weren’t sure they could build around is throwing And1 Mixtape Tour passes for ecstasy-inducing 3s. Outside of that, though, things are going pretty well for Dallas.
Jason Kidd called Luka a Picasso in the pregame. And Luka just painted an overhead masterpiece of a pass to Reaves for a 3.
Luka Doncic just posted one of the sickest assists of the season. He drove and whipped the ball behind his head for a no-look pass to Austin Reaves, who sinks a 3. He’s up to six assists, plus 10 points and nine rebounds.
Strong start to the second quarter for Austin Reaves, with a 3, a driving layup and a couple of free throws as well as a couple of nice passes to set Dalton Knecht up for 3 and a dunk to help keep the Lakers in front. If Reaves is supposed to see his role shrink now that Luka’s around, he’s got a funny way of showing it; he’s averaging 20 points and 6.2 assists per game since Luka’s debut.
Dallas needs some offense from Washington, who has 5 rebounds but is scoreless so far and has attempted only one shot.
Here’s a stat: the Mavericks are 3-for-18 on shots outside the paint. It’s not like they haven’t got decent looks, they’ve just been ice cold.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was introduced to the crowd after the last timeout. Like, we know he was great but somehow he’s become historically underrated over time.
Naji Marshall just gave LeBron James a “too small,” which is the kind of thing that might surprise you until you realize that Naji Marshall’s nickname is Knife.
That Dallas is down only eight after that first-quarter offensive performance is something of a miracle. Keeping them alive: second chances (seven offensive rebounds) and Laker miscues (six L.A. turnovers, three by LeBron, leading to five Dallas points).
The non-Kyrie Irving Mavericks are 2-for-18 from the field. Almost like they’re missing a guy who elevates everyone on offense.
Dallas is offensively inept right now. You knew it would be trouble with no AD, but Kyrie is struggling and open shots look laborious. 26 percent shooting in the first quarter.
It’s 28-20 Lakers after the first quarter and has been about what we were expecting. Luka Doncic is doing everything he can to make the Mavericks miserable, though he missed the last few minutes of the frame.
The Mavericks have 20 points. Luka has already scored or assisted on 20 points. Balance, in all things.
Like some old Mavericks wins, it is so far the Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving show. Doncic has nine points, seven rebounds and four assists in 10 minutes of play, while Irving leads all scorers with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting. It’s 25-20 Lakers with 2:12 remaining.
The refs just wiped a 3-pointer for Luka Doncic because he was out of bounds, so he’s down to seven points.
The Lakers just gave Anthony Davis a tribute video, followed by a standing ovation. Lakers players are standing and applauding their former teammate.
On the Mavericks’ end, Kyrie Irving also has 10 points.
Let’s say it’s an emotionally charged start here. Luka with a technical foul, and with a couple primal yells after triples. Scorned energy.
We knew Luka Doncic had this game circled. In the first break in play, he has 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in about six minutes. He just buried a 3 then stared down the Mavericks bench. This is personal.
Luka’s arm gets pulled, the referee misses an easy call, Luka gets angry about it, and the referee calls a technical.
This isn’t the way it should be. Refs need to be held accountable, and players shouldn’t be punished for horrible officiating.
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