The Los Angeles Lakers appear to have suffered a hangover at the opening ceremony on their opening night, in an apathetic defeat for the Los Angeles Clippers.
There was no disappointment on Friday.
Boasting their kickback baby blues, defending champions faced the hopeful Dallas Mavericks of the Western Conference in a primetime Christmas fight. They looked a lot like a team with the intention of hanging another banner in a 138-115 win.
2 MVP candidates better than 1
In a confrontation with a bunch of MVP candidates, the Lakers flexed the advantage they will have almost every night with great games from their pair of hardware contenders LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Luka Doncic tried to keep up with the pace. But the MVP favorite failed to muster enough to threaten the Lakers while his best running mate, Kristaps Porzingis, watched the injured on the bench.
Lakers nullify Mavericks on second chance points
Porzingis’ size was sorely missed, as the Lakers dominated the stock markets with a 53-27 rebound advantage. The Mavericks managed only three offensive rebounds while the Lakers held on to a surprising 35-0 advantage on second chance points.
Los Angeles set up its dominance on the glass for a double-digit advantage for almost the entire second half, before opening its doors in the final minutes of the game. In the process, James and Davis continued where they left off in October, as the first group in the NBA bubble.
LeBron, AD in the mid-season form
Davis led all scorers with 28 efficient points on 10 of 16 field shots, including three points from 3. He added eight assists, five rebounds and two steals. James flirted with a triple-double, scoring 22 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. He continued to show the long-range aim he developed towards the end of his career, matching Davis’ three triples.
He borrowed a page from the Doncic manual to beat his rival MVP at the end of the game.
Meanwhile, Clippers transplant and reigning Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell thrived in his bank role with 22 points and seven rebounds by hitting 10 out of 13 on the field.
Is Doncic in game form?
Doncic, as usual, led the Mavericks with 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists. But he fell short of the Herculean effort that he put so often in big games and didn’t get a chance to play any closer in this one. He also sat for almost half of the fourth period, which raises more questions about his conditioning to start the new season. When he came back in the middle of the quarter, the Lakers were leading by 14.
The Mavericks are not scheduled to face the Lakers again until the second half of the season, which has yet to be scheduled. By then, except for setbacks, Porzingis should be fully recovered from the knee injury he suffered in the blister. And any doubts about Doncic’s form of play must be long gone.
If that is the case, the next clash should provide a more truthful test of where the Mavericks are up against the title champions.
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