Skid snapped
The Los Angeles Lakers snapped their four-game losing streak on Sunday following a 128-120 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. They improved to 25-7 and still rank number one in the Western Conference.
In the win, LeBron James had 21 points and a season-high 16 assists while Anthony Davis added 20 points and nine rebounds. Four guys from the second unit also scored in double figures, as led by Kyle Kuzma, who had a team-high 24. Kuzma now has two-straight outings where he has scored 20 or more.
The offense-filled performance from last night was a good warm-up for tomorrow’s clash with Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.
The Lakers will be gunning for revenge as they lost to the Mavericks in their last encounter at Staples Center, 114-100, which halted a then 10-game winning streak. The loss featured a lethargic Lakers team in the second half that got outscored by 18 points in the third quarter and proceeded to play catch-up for the rest of the game.
The Lakers are 10-4 at home this season.
Back-to-back wins
On Sunday, the Mavericks finally broke their trend of alternating wins and losses, which stretched to eight games. They piled on the Golden State Warriors, 141-121, and moved to a 21-10 record. Luka Doncic was fantastic as always as he dropped his ninth triple-double of the season (31 points, 12 rebounds, and 15 assists).
With Luka playing in his third game back from an ankle injury, the Mavs having two-straight victories, and them already having a convincing win against the Lakers at Staples Center, confidence should be high in the locker room.
Doncic also flirted with a triple-double in that aforementioned victory in LA (27 pts, 9 rebs, 10 asst).
Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr., two of Luka’s finest scoring cohorts, will also have good morale coming in. The former is averaging 20.3 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks in his last eight, while Hardaway Jr. is at 18.8 points and 3.8 threes in his last seven.
With a 12-3 record outside their home floor, the Mavs are one of the best road teams in the league.
PREDICTION:
Luka’s mean streak courtesy of his return from injury continues. The Mavs win, 115-110.
