ORLANDO, FL — Basketball has officially returned—even if the games are only scrimmages with short quarters. In the first of three scrimmages before the season restarts, the Dallas Mavericks (40-27) took on the best team in the Western Conference, Los Angeles Lakers (49-14).
See below the starting lineups for the Mavericks and Lakers at the Visa Athletic Center.
DALLAS
Luka Doncic (G)
Seth Curry (G)
Kristaps Porzingis (C)
Dorian Finney-Smith (F)
Tim Hardaway Jr. (F)
LA LAKERS
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (G)
Danny Green (G)
JaVale McGee (C)
Anthony Davis (F)
LeBron James (F)
Kristaps Porzingis got the first bucket for Dallas with Seth Curry knocking down a 3-pointer soon after. Curry’s shooting would be the nail in the coffin for Dallas. The Mavericks looked energized going 4-of-4 from the floor right out the gate. The momentum was on Dallas’ side for the majority of the opening frame.
The No. 1 seed in the Western Conference probably needed a few minutes to shake the dust off because they came back aggressive leading by as much as 13 points. Anthony Davis and LeBron James collected 12 points a piece as the Lakers held on to a cushy 10-point lead at the half.
Mavericks Head Coach Rick Carlisle said in his pregame press conference that James and Davis are “two of the best players on the planet…this is the kind of challenge you want when you first step out there.” The dynamic duo played their allotted minutes in the first half and sat on the bench for the remainder of the game.
Luka Doncic led Dallas with 13 points, three rebounds, and four assists before halftime. Mavs big man Boban Marjanovic snatched down a game-high seven rebounds in the first half. He would later finish with a double-double.
Entering the fourth quarter, Curry was 8-of-8 from the floor including six buckets from downtown. It was clear that Curry was shooting the same if not better than he was prior to the season being postponed.
