[ad_1]
LOS ANGELES – When LeBron James checked the stat sheet as he left the Staples Center court after his last high-scoring Christmas win, he realized the Lakers had scored 138 points with just 22 of him.
The NBA champions already look like they could be even better this year. In his second game of the new season, even Luka Doncic didn’t get a chance to keep up.
Anthony Davis scored 28 points and James became the second-highest Christmas scorer in NBA history during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 138-115 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.
Montrezl Harrell scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half, and Dennis Schröder had 18 points and six assists in a strong second game for the two new additions to the champions. Los Angeles rebounded Dallas 53-27 and closed its first win of the season with a dominant fourth quarter.
“We have the ability to have four, maybe even five guys who can score in the 20s on any given night,” James said. “As long as we defend and are efficient, it is a beautiful thing to see.”
Continue reading below ↓
Recommended Videos
Doncic had 27 points and seven assists in his first starring role in the NBA Christmas night game for Dallas. Josh Richardson and Trey Burke each had 17 points as the Mavs started 0-2 with a late fade.
Dallas’ three offensive rebounds were fewer than Harrell’s, who had five.
“You can’t win a game where the second-chance points are 35-0,” Doncic said. “It’s as simple as that. We boxed, we won the game.”
The Lakers were aggressive and accurate from the early lead, taking a 69-57 lead at halftime while hitting 61.4% of their shots. Doncic was 3-of-10 in the first half, but combined with Burke for 22 points in the third quarter to keep him close.
“The more we play with each other, the more we’re going to figure things out,” Davis said. “We were proud that we didn’t lose two in a row last year, so we wanted to go out there and make sure we did.”
HOLIDAY JOYS
James moved to second place behind Kobe Bryant with the most points scored this Christmas, beating Oscar Robertson in the third quarter. James has 383 points in 15 Christmas games, while Bryant had 395 in 16 Christmas appearances.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Kristaps Porzingis is on the Mavericks trip as he recovers from knee surgery in October. Coach Rick Carlisle said the big Latvian “is making progress all the time. I trust to say it’s weeks, not months (before his return, but that’s all I’m going to tell you. He has a long way to go.” This was Dallas’s only scheduled meeting with the Lakers this season.
Lakers: Davis was accidentally elbowed in the face by Burke in the first quarter. He had a split lip, but it stuck. … ESPN reported that Schröder has already opened contract extension talks with Los Angeles, and the German guard confirmed that he “would love” to sign a long-term contract: “It just has to be fair to both sides. … Wesley Matthews, Marc Gasol and Alfonzo McKinnie scored their first points for the Lakers after running out of touchdowns in Game 1. … They wore light blue warm-ups over their silver-on-white Christmas uniforms with blue accents.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
Mavericks: Visit Clippers on Sunday.
Lakers: They will host the Timberwolves on Sunday.
MORE OF SPIN
