LOS ANGELES — The NBA’s schedule-makers had grand expectations when they placed a primetime showdown between the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers on the night before All-Star Weekend officially kicked off.
The trio of Anthony Davis, Cooper Flagg and possibly Kyrie Irving versus the Big 3 of Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves.
None of those players were active (or on the roster in Davis’ case) for Thursday’s unofficial kickoff to the All-Star break except Reaves and James, who’s ironically one of the healthiest players among the group despite being the oldest player in the NBA at 41 years old.
The undermanned Mavericks suffered their ninth straight loss because of James’ first triple-double of the season, which played a pivotal role in Thursday’s 124-104 loss to the Lakers.
Mavericks
Dallas’ nine-game skid is the longest losing streak for the franchise since it lost 15 consecutive games during the 1997-98 season.
“Nine in a row is nothing to be happy about,” said Max Christie, who led the Mavericks with 19 points. “There’s a sense of urgency, for sure. We gotta find a way to break that spell going into the break. We gotta rest, rejuvenate and come back stronger.”
The Mavericks head into the six-day break with a 19-35 record with 28 games remaining in the season, but more importantly, it offers their players an opportunity to get healthy.
Dallas was without Flagg, who is sidelined through the All-Star break with a left midfoot sprain suffered in Tuesday’s loss at Phoenix. He will also miss Friday’s Rising Stars game, which leaves the Mavericks without a representative for the annual festivities.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks ruled both Naji Marshall and Daniel Gafford out of the game due to their respective injuries. Marshall, who tied a team-high with 19 points, re-aggravated the left foot strain he entered the game with. Gafford could not finish the game because of right ankle soreness, which has plagued him through the season.
Coach Jason Kidd referenced his signature “next man up” mantra to describe the importance of playing without Flagg and Caleb Martin, who was also out because of a left ankle sprain.
Four of the Mavericks’ five starters reached double scoring figures, led by Los Angeles native Brandon Williams, who added 17 points, five rebounds and seven assists in his homecoming game. PJ Washington added 18 points.
Doncic missed his fourth consecutive game with a left hamstring strain and his first game against his old team since he was acquired by the Lakers. Los Angeles remains undefeated against the Mavericks since Doncic was traded with an unblemished record of 5-0.
James offered a reminder of why he was selected to his 22nd All-Star appearance. He finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.
Lakers fans erupted with two minutes and five seconds left when James grabbed his 10th rebound of the game, which secured his first triple-double of the season.
It was apparent James was headed toward a significant night when he nailed back-to-back 3-pointers in the first quarter, prompting a timeout by Kidd. The Lakers star kicked both feet into the air to celebrate and looked back at the Mavericks bench.
While Flagg won’t be able to participate in any All-Star festivities, Kidd is confident that it won’t be the last time he’ll be among the league’s brightest stars.
“The beauty of our game is they get to see him play worldwide,” Kidd said. “This was an incredible job in the first part of his rookie season. He has to miss All-Star Weekend, but he has a long enough runway. He’ll be at All-Star plenty of times in the future.”
The future Kidd referenced was a long-term outlook. The goal for the immediate future is for Dallas to come out of the break in better shape than it entered.
“We gotta get healthy,” Kidd said. “It’s something that’s been part of our DNA for the last two years, is injuries and hopefully we can come out of this break healthy and ready to go.”
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