Injury-riddled Lakers can't overcome Cooper Flagg's 45 points in loss to Dallas
LeBron James finishes with 30 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds, but without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, the Lakers lose 134-128 to the Mavericks.
Lakers star LeBron James drives to the basket during a 134-128 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. James finished one rebound short of a triple-double. (LM Otero / Associated Press) The Lakers are as shorthanded as they can be, their dynamic starting backcourt of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves out with injuries at a pivotal time of the season.
They're the offensive engines for a Lakers team battling for the No. 3 playoff seeding in a competitive Western Conference. The 41-year-old LeBron James is now driving the Lakers, and despite falling just a rebound shy of a triple-double, he couldn't save the Lakers from a 134-128 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday at American Airlines Center.
Read more: Lakers' Austin Reaves out for rest of regular season with oblique strain James had 30 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds. Luke Kennard delivered his first career triple-double with 15 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists. Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg , coming off a 51-point performance against Orlando on Friday, finished with 45 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
He scored 19 points in the first quarter. Docic was diagnosed with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain and will be out the remainder of the regular season — maybe even longer. Reaves was diagnosed with a Grade 2 left oblique muscle injury and will be out for the rest of the regular season, and likely into the playoffs.