National Basketball Association
Dallas 124, L.A. Lakers 115
When: 2:30 PM ET, Sunday, December 25, 2022
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Officials: #38 Michael Smith, #13 Ashley Moyer-Gleich, #48 Scott Foster
Attendance: 20441

Luka Doncic scored 32 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out nine assists, and the Dallas Mavericks outscored the visiting Los Angeles Lakers by 30 points in the third quarter to take control in a 124-115 Christmas Day win on Sunday.

The Lakers held a 54-43 lead at halftime behind LeBron James' strong start, but they gave up a season-high 51 points to the Mavericks in a pivotal third quarter. James went on to finish with 38 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Dallas' 51-21 eruption in the stanza flipped what had been a Los Angeles advantage of as many as 14 points in the first half to a 21-point Mavericks lead in the second half.

Los Angeles pulled to within 10 points early in the fourth quarter, but Dallas had an answer each time the Lakers threatened to move within a single-digit margin.

The Mavericks put the game away with a 9-0 run lasting 1:21 down the stretch, capped when Doncic connected on a 3-pointer in front of the Dallas bench. Doncic exchanged high-fives with his teammates on the sideline after effectively snuffing the Lakers' comeback hopes.

Christian Wood finished the game with a flourish, including a rebound to help set up Doncic's final 3-pointer. Wood also delivered a put-back dunk down the stretch -- two of his 30 points -- and made one of his four steals late.

He added eight rebounds and seven assists. Spencer Dinwiddie distributed another eight assists, as 31 of Dallas' 44 made field goals were assisted.

Los Angeles, meanwhile, finished with just 18 assists on its 39 made baskets.

Dallas connected on 44 of 84 field-goal attempts, including 18 of 44 from 3-point range. Tim Hardaway Jr. shot 6 of 14 from beyond the arc en route to 26 points.

Russell Westbrook scored 17 points off the bench for the Lakers. Austin Reaves added 16 points. No other Los Angeles scorer other than James produced more than nine points.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
L.A. Lakers   Dallas
LeBron James 38 Scoring Luka Doncic 32
LeBron James 5 Assists Luka Doncic 9
Wenyen Gabriel 7 Rebounds Luka Doncic 9
LeBron James 12 Free Throws Made Luka Doncic 12
Troy Brown Jr. 2 Steals Christian Wood 4
Austin Reaves 2 Blocks Christian Wood 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
L.A. Lakers 115 48.8 9-28 28-32 18 35 2 5 10
Dallas 124 52.4 18-44 18-25 31 38 3 6 11
Upcoming Games
  • Dallas will play their next game at home against New York. The Mavericks have a W/L % of .444 after a win and .625 after a loss.
  • L.A. Lakers will play their next game on the road against Orlando. The Lakers have a W/L % of .538 after a win and .300 after a loss.