The Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers starred in an epic battle on Christmas day.
Against all odds, Darvin Ham‘s team had the Mavericks against the wall, leading by double digits after the first two quarters.
Then, the Mavs came out of the locker room looking like a bulldozer, crushing their rivals’ aspirations with a 51-point third quarter and a 19-point lead.
Luka Doncic and Tim Hardaway Jr. combined for 29 of the Mavericks’ 51 points in the third quarter, helping the Mavs make history by having the highest-scoring quarter in Christmas day’s history, according to Tim Reynolds:
Mavs just had a 51-point third quarter, the highest scoring quarter in Christmas history. Previous was 45 by the Lakers in 1961.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) December 25, 2022
When asked about what happened and what they had done to turn the intensity up, Doncic claimed they were just making the right play and getting the shots to fall:
“I don’t think it was adjustments, I think it was just making the right play,” Doncic said after the game. “I think we didn’t make shots in the first half. We just kept making the right play, and we had open shots and open lay-ups.”
Doncic finished the night with 32 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, and a couple of three-pointers.
Christian Wood was nearly as impressive with 30 points, 8 rebounds, 7 dimes, 4 steals, 2 blocks, and a couple of threes of his own, having — by far — his best game since joining the Mavericks.
LeBron James had 38 points with 6 boards and 5 dimes, but just he, Austin Reaves (16), and Russell Westbrook (17) were able to score double figures for the purple and gold, and things don’t figure to get any better or easier as long as they don’t have Anthony Davis on the floor.
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