Heading into Sunday night's matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Dallas Mavericks boasted the best offense in the league, and were coming off an electric 141-121 win over the Golden State Warriors. Led by MVP candidate Luka Doncic, the Mavs have been nearly unstoppable on the offensive end of the floor, steamrolling teams behind Doncic's elite playmaking and a terrific shooting attack.
But in this primetime showdown, the Mavericks looked quite ordinary, as the Lakers used a dominant performance on the defensive end to secure a 108-95 victory. Los Angeles held Dallas under 100 points for just the second time all season, limited Doncic to 19 points on 5 of 14 shooting and forced 18 turnovers. If that wasn't enough, the Lakers also held the Mavericks to just 36 percent shooting from the floor, and 30.2 percent from 3-point land, both of which are well below their season averages.
While beating another top team in the Western Conference in any matter is nice for the Lakers, doing it by getting back on track on the defensive end is a great sign. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are two of the best offensive players in the world, but the Lakers have the best record in the West, and second-best in the entire league, thanks in large part to their efforts on the defensive side of the ball.
During their mini four-game losing streak over the past few weeks, however, they struggled in that aspect of the game. Some of it was the competition they were playing, to be sure, as well as missed games from LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but it was still disappointing for the Lakers to see their defense get gashed to the tune of a 117.3 defensive rating during their losing streak. They allowed their opponents to shoot 47.5 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range, and over that stretch, only the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies were worse on defense.
But it was clear by the way they shut down the Mavericks' high-powered offensive attack that they're back in business. Even acknowledging that Doncic was slowed by a nasty fall he took late in the first half and that the Mavs were without Tim Hardaway Jr. for much of the game after he hurt his hamstring, this was still a terrific performance by the Lakers' defense. Just check out this shot chart.
They really got up into Doncic on the perimeter and were quick to show help, pressuring him into a tough shooting night and six turnovers. In addition, they gave good efforts closing out on shooters, which was key in holding the Mavs to 30.2 percent shooting from downtown and their interior defense, led by Davis, Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee, was strong as always, limiting the Mavericks to just 32 points in the paint.
With LeBron and AD leading the way, the Lakers are going to have a terrific offense, and there will be plenty of attention given to what they do on that side of the ball. But Sunday night's win over the Mavericks was a strong reminder that their defense is just as impressive, and might actually be more important for their championship aspirations.
