Mavs Sans Davis Get Past Warriors; LA Lakers Get Upset by Utah Jazz
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 13 Feb 2025
The awaited meeting between old rivals Anthony Davis and Jimmy Butler did not materialise as Davis remained in the sick bay followed still by two other major Dallas players.
Be that as it may, the Mavericks still got the home win over the reinforced Golden State Warriors, 111-107 with Kyrie Irving Klay, Thompson and new addition Max Christie scoring a combined 76 points.
Meanwhile, Luka Doncic finally got to see action with Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers but they went down to a 131-119 loss to the Utah Jazz starring Lauri Merkannen in Salt Lake City.
Compounding Davis's continued indisposition, the Mavericks even had center Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington out with injuries of their own.
This prompted Mavs coach Jason Kidd to resort to small ball utilizing 6-7 forward Kessler Edwards to play the post and Irving, Thompson and Christie to employ a combination of three point shooting and slashing attacks to the basket to offset the size advantage of the Warriors. This was the same strategy used by the Mavs against the tall Sacramento Kings featuring a pair of seven foot centers Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valenciunas which they nearly beat in their last game. They lost that one by just a point in overtime.
This time, the Mavs took control of the game against the Warriors despite Stephen Curry and Butler and company keeping it close from the opening tip. Dallas never lost the initiative once they posted sizable leads starting the third quarter after a slim 57-56 half time lead.
Dallas blunted every Golden State rally in the payoff period keeping them in the driver's seat as time ran out on the Warriors.
Irving topscored for Dallas with 42 points. He was supported by Thompson and Christie with 17 points each. The trio also accounted for 19 rebounds with Irving and Thompson grabbing seven boards each. Edwards and Olivier Prosper registered team high six assists each as they helped in setting up Irving and company aside from tending the boards with Naji Marshall. Guard Brandon Williams added 12 points coming off the bench to make up for Spencer Dinwiddle's paltry three points performance.
Curry led the Warriors with 25 points backstopped by Butler with 21, Gary Payton II and Moses Moody with 14 each and Draymond Green with 13. Kevon Loony had team high 8 rebounds.
The Lakers perhaps still adjusting to Doncic in the starting line up with Lebron, could not seem to get going against the Jazz, even trailing behind by the end of the first half, 64-56.
The Jazz took control of the game outscoring the Lakers 40-30 in the third quarter. The lead never went down below ten points in the payoff period
Six Jazz players led by Markannen's 32 points were in double figures. Jordan Clarkson had 21 and Kenyon's George poured 20 off the bench. John Collins had 17, Walker Kessler 16 and Isaiah Collier with 10 rounded up the Jazz double digits scoring.
For the Lakers, Riu Hachimura topped with 19 points followed by James with 18. Doncic scored 16 points in 23 minutes on the floor in his LA debut. Austin Reeves contributed 15 and top draft Dalton Knecht had 10 points in 17 minutes of action.
The Lakers will try to bounce back against the Charlotte Hornets at home on Thursday, February 20, 2025.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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