A 30-point, 15-rebound outing courtesy of Anthony Davis has helped will the Los Angeles Lakers to a 111-108 win over the Dallas Mavericks and pull off the largest comeback of any team this season.
The Lakers trailed 48-21 less than halfway into the second quarter before ending the half on a 26-13 run.
They finished the third quarter plus-11 before wrestling the lead off Dallas in the early stages of the fourth quarter.
Both teams traded scores down the stretch before Davis and LeBron James came up with signature makes in the final two minutes.
Teams were 0-138 this season when trailing by 27-plus points prior to the Lakers’ comeback.
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It also marked the franchise’s largest comeback since December 2002 when they erased a 30-point deficit also against the Mavericks.
Davis led the way with 30 points and 15 rebounds – the seventh time he has hit those marks this season – to go along with four assists and three blocks.
James – who was noticeably hampered by an ankle issue that he picked up in the second half – finished with 26 points and eight rebounds but shot the ball poorly hitting on just 10 of his 23 field goal attempts and one of his six three-point attempts.
Deadline acquisition Jarred Vanderbilt had a monster game for Los Angeles finishing with 15 points, 17 rebounds (eight offensive), and four steals to go with several impactful plays hardly quantifiable by the stat-sheet.
He became the first Laker since Vlade Divac in 1995 to record eight offensive rebounds and four steals in a game.
Dennis Schröder also added 16 points and eight assists and was a team-high plus-17.
Their jump in scrappiness and intensity – headed by Vanderbilt – proved the catalyst for their historic comeback.
They were plus-10 on the boards and plus-11 in points off turnovers.
Dallas’ three-point dominance earnt them the early ascendancy with the home team knocking in 12 of their 23 first-half attempts compared to Los Angeles’ 3-of-21.
The second half proved a different story, however, with Dallas converting on just eight of their 26 attempts.
The Lakers dominated in the paint – 62 points to 32 – and at the line – 28 attempts to 14.
Dallas were led by Luka Dončić’s 26 points, nine rebounds, and five assists on 10-of-22 shooting whilst Kyrie Irving added 22 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists on 8-of-22 from the field.
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 17 points on 4-of-8 from three off the bench whilst Christian Wood finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.
The Lakers improve to 29-32 on the year and are now within a game of the play-in bracket whilst Dallas fall to 32-30 and remain a game behind the fifth seed and a game ahead of the seventh seed.
