The Los Angeles Lakers contested against the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA on the 22nd of November. Both the teams have been playing extremely well currently and are in form. Although the Mavs with the likes of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are on a whole different level this season, the Lakers with the likes of Lebron James and Anthony Davis are carrying on.
The Lakers lost to the in-form Dallas Mavericks 104-101 on 22nd November. The Lakers usually tend to come back from behind in matches but this time fell a few points short in the end. LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Lakers’ best players for years did their all against the Mavs.
5⃣ Mavs – Lakers observations
1. Another clutch game and win vs Lakers (seems like every recent game vs Lakers has to be a nail-biter)
Kryie preventing major collapse with a clutch 3 after Reaves mistake (who was otherwise killing Mavs in the 4th) over-helping on a Luka drive. pic.twitter.com/LDQr2fK3b3
— Iztok Franko (@iztok_franko) November 23, 2023
However basketball is a team game and one cannot win the match by itself, due to some poor gameplay by the Lakers, Davis was left agitated by his team-mates, he said post-game, “Our shot-making… we had a lot of shot-making that kinda affect some of us especially when the shots are wide open..we should make wide-open shots,” this was said by Davis in relevance due to their poor shot-making in the game which led to their loss.
The Lakers’ comeback falls short against the Mavs in the NBA
The Lakers as usual this season fell behind during the game against the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA. NBA and Lakers fans thought this was a time for a classic comeback by the Lakers when they went on a run and were almost head-to-head with the Mavs.
Second-Half Anthony Davis was back at it during the nail-biter of Lakers vs. Mavs 😬 pic.twitter.com/N34HKkKD7p
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 23, 2023
Unfortunately, that did not happen and they fell just a few points short of a famous comeback win that they are known for. They lost to the Mavs 104-101 in a thriller of a game, also due to some poor gameplay by the Lakers in general.
Anthony Davis issues a stern warning to his teammates
For the Lakers to have a chance to win against a formidable opponent, Anthony Davis himself needs to be playing much better than the game he played against the Mavs on the 22nd. But he also was skeptical about his teammates, so he issued a stern warning to them to improve their game or else may face a long season ahead.
He said post-game regarding the poor performance, “Our shot-making… we had a lot of shot-making that kinda affect some of us especially when the shots are wide open. You know, guys kinda get down on themselves. I mean, that’s when transition comes into play, the miscues on defense, so regardless we’re making shots or not, we got to be able to execute on the defensive end.”
Anthony Davis was about as respectful as can be in calling out what is hurting the Lakers early on in games: Guys need to start making open shots pic.twitter.com/iTSZ7kOnxx
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 23, 2023
For the most part of the game, Davis was not participating in the Lakers’ offensive. The Lakers don’t need him to play a supporting role, so he only took three shots in the second half to finish with ten attempts total. He finished with just 10 points and 13 rebounds according to StatMuse.
It remains to be seen what happens next with the Lakers in the league and how they take Davis’ rallying cry into their minds. For the Lakers to win something in this tough NBA season, the whole roster will need to be at their flying best.