LOS ANGELES (AP) – Kyrie Irving scored 28 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 22 seconds to play, and the Dallas Mavericks blew a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter before rallying back for a 104-101 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers yesterday.
LeBron James scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and made the tiebreaking tip-in with 1:16 to play for the Lakers, but the NBA career scoring leader also made a turnover with four seconds left and then missed a tying three-point attempt at the buzzer.
“We gave ourselves a fighting chance, but it’s kind of tough when you go down that many points,” James said. “I liked our defence in the last 12 minutes. We’ve just got to be better for the first 36.”
“When you have quarterbacks like Luka and Ky, trust is high,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said.
“A lot of times they’re going to get double-teamed, but Luka makes a heck of a pass, and Ky does what he does. No panic, and he makes a big shot to win.”
