Game #2 – December 25, 2020
(1-1)	138	-	115	(0-2)
Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA

Team Leaders Lakers

Points – Davis 28, Harrell 22, James 22

Rebounds – Gasol 9, Davis 8, 3 Players Tied With 7

Assists – James 10, Schroder 6, Davis 5

Team Leaders Mavericks

Points – Doncic 27, Burke 17, Richardson 17

Rebounds – Kleber 5, Doncic 4, Hardaway Jr. 4

Assists – Doncic 7, Johnson 4, 3 Players Tied With 2

Lakers vs. Mavericks – Box Score 12.25.20

Game #38 – January 10, 2020
	129	-	114
American Airlines Center – Dallas, TX

Team Leaders Lakers

Points – James 35, Kuzma 26, 2 Players Tied With 10

Rebounds – James 16, Howard 6, Kuzma 6

Assists – James 7, Rondo 3, 3 Players Tied With 2

Team Leaders Mavericks

Points – Doncic 25, Hardaway Jr. 22, Curry 16

Rebounds – Doncic 10, Marjanovic 10, Hardaway Jr. 7

Assists – Doncic 7, Brunson 4, 3 Players Tied With 2

Lakers @ Mavericks – Box Score 01.10.20

Game #33 – December 29, 2019
	108	-	95
Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA

Team Leaders Lakers

Points – Davis 23, Caldwell-Pope 19, Howard 15

Rebounds – Davis 9, James 6, 2 Players Tied With 5

Assists – James 13, Davis 4, McGee 4

Team Leaders Mavericks

Points – Doncic 19, Wright 14, 2 Players Tied With 12

Rebounds – Powell 11, Porzingis 7, Finney-Smith 6

Assists – Doncic 7, Finney-Smith 3, Wright 3

Lakers vs. Mavericks – Box Score 12.29.19

Game #20 – December 1, 2019
	100	-	114
Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA

Team Leaders Lakers

Points – Davis 27, James 25, Caruso 10

Rebounds – Davis 10, McGee 10, James 9

Assists – James 8, Rondo 7, 3 Players Tied With 2

Team Leaders Mavericks

Points – Doncic 27, Wright 17, 3 Players Tied With 15

Rebounds – Doncic 9, Kleber 9, Powell 9

Assists – Doncic 10, Wright 9, 2 Players Tied With 2

Lakers vs. Mavericks – Box Score 12.01.19

Game #41 – January 7, 2019
	107	-	97
American Airlines Center – Dallas, TX

Team Leaders Lakers

Points – Ingram 29, Ball 21, Hart 14

Rebounds – Hart 12, McGee 10, Ball 7

Assists – Hart 6, Ingram 6, Ball 5

Team Leaders Mavericks

Points – Doncic 27, 3 Players Tied With 11

Rebounds – Jordan 19, Doncic 8, Finney-Smith 8

Assists – Barea 3, 4 Players Tied With 2

Lakers @ Mavericks – Box Score 01.07.19

Kobe Bryant takes a jumper against the Mavericks.

There were five ejections and four technical fouls at Staples Center on Thursday night, but nothing could stop the Lakers methodical second half romp over the Dallas Mavericks 110-82, as they won the battle for second place in the Western Conference.

Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 28 points, and Andrew Bynum had 18 points and 13 rebounds as the Lakers moved their record to an NBA-best 16-1 since the All-Star break. They’ve also won eight straight.

In a playoff-like atmosphere, with the Lakers running away in the fourth quarter, the Mavs’ Jason Terry pushed Steve Blake under the basket, sparking a skirmish between the players on the court. 

Matt Barnes, Blake, Terry, and Brendan Haywood were all ejected, with Terry picking up a flagrant-2 foul.  Minutes later, Shannon Brown was ejected after another shoving match that followed a hard foul on Pau Gasol with the game well out of reach.

Neither of the incidents could take away what was a dominating performance by the world champs, who held Dallas to just 31 points in the second half, including closing the game on a 19-2 run. The two teams could face each at some point during the playoffs.

Gasol chipped in with 20 points and six rebounds, and Lamar Odom had 16 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, scoring 11 straight points at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth, that turned a 79-70 game into a 90-70 lead.   Ron Artest poured in 13 points.

The Lakers led a tight game 54-51 at halftime, and then slowly started to pull away late in the third quarter.  After Odom’s 11-0 run late in the game, Dallas responded after the first flare up to get to within 91-80.  Bryant was reinserted into the game to restore order, scoring six straight points and the game was never close again.

For the game, the Lakers shot 44.7% (38-85) from the field, and hit 28-39 (71.8%) from the foul line.  They outrebounded the Mavericks 52-47, and committed just seven turnovers.  Dallas shot a woeful 36.1% (30-83) from the floor, and a miserable 6-26 (23.1%) from beyond the arc. They scored just 12 points in the final quarter.

Dirk Nowitski led the visitors with 27 points and 13 rebounds, one of only three Mavs in double figures.  Peja Stojakovic had 13 and J.J. Barea had 10 points off the bench. Before getting tossed from the game, Terry hit just 2-9 shots for five points.  Nowitski was clearly the lone bright spot on this night.

The win put the Lakers 1.5 games ahead of Dallas for second place in the Western Conference, and two games ahead in the loss column.  They also hold the tiebreaker having beaten Dallas 2-1 this season.  They are also only 2.5 games behind the San Antonio Spurs for first in the West after Boston’s 107-97 in San Antonio Thursday.

The Lakers play tomorrow night in Utah against the struggling Jazz, having just finished a 7-0 homestand.  They’ll return back to Staples Center for a Sunday for an afternoon game against the surging Denver Nuggets.

Link: Lakers vs. Mavericks Box Score

The stars of the night were most definitely newcomers Karl Malone and Gary Payton, who shone in their Laker regular season debuts.

Malone nearly had a triple-double as he tallied 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists in an all-around stellar game. Payton led the Lakers with 21 points, he also dished out 9 assists and grabbed 7 rebounds.

Payton and Malone led a very balanced attack, as six Lakers scored in double figures. Shaquille O’Neal, fresh off his recent feud with Bryant, Derek Fisher, and Devean George all scored 16 points, while another newcomer, Bryon Russell, added 10 off the bench.

The Mavs never were able to get into the flow of the game, and found themselves down 14 after one quarter and 10 at the half. They got no closer than seven points in the second half, and never really mounted a serious challenge. They managed to shoot only 38% from the field for the game.

Bryant, who was sidelined because of knee surgery, joined his teammates on the bench in the 4th quarter, just in time for the festivities as the Lakers’ lead ballooned to 19. He even sat next to O’Neal, as the two try to put their war of words to rest, and get on with the season. Bryant says he hopes to be ready to play Saturday at Phoenix.

Dallas was led Dirk Nowitski and Antoine Walker who each scored 19 points.

Link: LakerStats.com Box Score
Link: NBA.com Recap