Back-to-back games and back-to-back wins for the Dallas Mavericks (15-8) as they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers (14-10) 127-125 at American Airlines Center on Tuesday night.
Dallas, who has won four straight, defeated the Grizzlies in Memphis on Monday night.
Luka Doncic was his typical self as he had a team-high 33 points, six rebounds, and 17 assists, and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 32 points, including five threes off the bench.
However, this game was about the play of Dante Exum, who scored 17 of his season-high 26 points in the fourth, including a career-high seven three-pointers.
With Doncic getting a lot of attention, Exum, who made five threes in the fourth, got plenty of open looks and took advantage of it.
“[He was] amazing,” Doncic said about Exum. “Obviously, not just tonight, but I think tonight was his best game. His plays, his defense, and obviously his shooting today. He has been amazing for us.”
Because they left him wide open, Exum said he had no choice but to shoot.
“Even in Portland, there was a couple of shots I could have shot, but tonight they left me wide open,” Exum said. “I had no choice, I was forced to shoot, and I showed the confidence that I was going to sit there and shoot. I am thankful for the result. But the mindset going forward is those are the shots I have to keep shooting if they are going to play me like that. I’ve had a solid shot; I want to speed it up a bit. It is just stuff I am going to keep working on, but I want to speed it up if they close out strong.”
According to Exum, he started working hard on his shot after seeing how teams guard him.
“I think it started in L.A., and then a lot of teams started to put their five on me,” Exum said. “So, ever since then, I have been in the gym working—credit to the staff and even our players. Constantly trusting me to shoot the ball and to pass it to me. It was trust in myself and confidence to keep shooting it. I think how Luka [Dončić] plays, and he can find anyone at any point. Knowing guys are going to help off to double him, and I have to be ready. I try to put myself in the situation where I can be on the floor. I don’t want to be the guy that is taken out because I can’t hit that shot.”
Mavs coach Jason Kidd added on Exum: “You play the percentages. [Danté] Exum – he’s playing at a high level right now on both ends. With the injuries, it’s given him confidence, and you can see that, not just shooting the threes but attacking the basket there in the first quarter, getting that layup, not just settling. We’ve talked about how his IQ is extremely high. He knows how to play the right way.”
Without the services of Kyrie Irving, Josh Green, Maxi Kleber, and Derrick Jones Jr., the Mavs needed points from elsewhere, and it was next man up, and Exum was that next man up.
Notes:
Dallas recorded 127 points tonight, marking the 14th game this season where the team has recorded 120-or-more points in a game, the most 120-point games through 23 games in team history.
With just 10 turnovers against the Lakers, the Mavericks have 11 games with 10-or-fewer turnovers. They lead the league in games with 10-or-fewer turnovers (11).
Tuesday’s game marked the first time this season that three Mavericks players have recorded 25-or-more points in the same game (33, Luka Dončić; 32, Tim Hardaway Jr.; 26 Dante Exum).
The Lakers’ Anthony Davis had a game-high 37 points and 11 rebounds, and LeBron James added 33 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists.
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