LOS ANGELES, February 27 ------ The much-anticipated showdown between Luka Doncic and the team that traded him in arguably the most shocking trade in NBA history ended in a Lakers victory, as they defeated a depleted Dallas Mavericks 107-99 at Crypto.com Arena. Doncic recorded a triple-double in his first meeting against Dallas, finishing with 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists. However, the Lakers’ balanced attack and defensive presence proved too much for the Mavs. LeBron James led the way for Los Angeles with 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 assists, while Austin Reaves added 20 points and 5 assists. The Lakers dominated the rebounding battle 57-45, with Doncic and James combining for 27 boards.
Dallas who was still without key players Anthony Davis and Daniel Gafford struggled with efficiency and the Lakers’ defense, shooting just 36% from the field and 28% from three, compared to the Lakers’ 45% FG and 39% from deep. Despite a game-high 35 points from Kyrie Irving, the Mavs couldn’t capitalize on their chances, turning the ball over 14 times while being outscored in second-chance points. The Lakers led by as much as 16 points in the second quarter, but a third-quarter surge by the Mavericks, fueled by a barrage of threes, cut the deficit to just three points, 70-67 midway the 3rd. However, a dominant fourth quarter from LeBron and strong defensive efforts allowed the Lakers to pull away late and secure the victory. With this win, the Lakers continue to build momentum and stay pat at 5th in the West with a 34 - 21 record, while the Mavericks are hanging on to 8th at 31 - 27 as the await the return of Davis.
The front-running Cleveland Cavaliers extended their winning streak to eight games with a 122-82 thrashing of the Orlando Magic. Ty Jerome top-scored off the bench for Cleveland making 20 points in 21 minutes while Max Strus nailed five three-pointers as he put up 17 points. The blowout win moves the Cavs to a league-best 48-10 record on the season, despite Donovan Mitchell being restricted to just 11 points. "We move it quickly, we move it quickly up the floor in transition, make quick decisions, everyone touches it -- it is a fun style of play," said Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson. "It creates a lot of open looks and our skill level is super high, you have to have high skill level to play that way," he added.
The Boston Celtics, a place behind Cleveland in the East, took their own winning streak to six games with a 111-101 victory at the Toronto Raptors. Jaylen Brown scored 24 points with Derrick White adding 22, while Payton Prichard had 20 points and Jayson Tatum put up 19 points and provided 11 assists for the Celtics. White shot six of 11 three-pointers in a game where Toronto trailed by 17 early in the fourth quarter. Although the Raptors were able to cut the lead to seven with 4:18 left the outcome was never truly in doubt, with White's last three-pointer sealing victory. Brown did not play in the final three minutes of the game as he struggled with an injury to his left leg. The Celtics had been without Kristaps Porzingis through illness while Jrue Holiday was rested, Luke Kornet was absent for personal reasons and Al Horford had a sore big toe. White praised the way the team had coped with those absences. "Standards are standards so it doesn't matter who is playing. A lot of guys had big minutes for us, we had to figure it out and we got the win," he said.
The Memphis Grizzlies, third in the West, needed overtime to beat a determined Phoenix Suns 151-148 with Ja Morant top-scoring with 29 points and providing eight assists. Morant scored 15 points in the fourth quarter including the game-tying shot before the end of regulation.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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