James scores 28 as Lakers down Mavs for 2nd straight win

[December 01, 2018]  LeBron James scored 28 points and Brandon Ingram added 19 as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from a double-digit deficit in the first half and pulled away for a 114-103 victory Friday over the visiting Dallas Mavericks.

Kyle Kuzma scored 15 points with 12 rebounds as the Lakers answered consecutive defeats earlier in the week with victories on back-to-back days after they built a big lead and held on against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday.

The Lakers outscored the Mavericks 61-45 in the second half and held Dallas to just 17 points in the third quarter.

Harrison Barnes scored 29 points and Dwight Powell added 17 off the bench for the Mavericks, who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end. Dallas entered with seven victories in their previous eight games.

The Mavericks got off to a fast start, taking a 17-6 lead four minutes into the game as the Lakers started just 2 of 9 from the field. Dallas led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter before the Lakers finally started to chip away at the deficit.

The Lakers trailed 58-53 at halftime, then opened the third quarter on an 8-2 run to take a 61-60 lead and held a 78-75 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

The Lakers were 5 of 8 from 3-point range in the third quarter after going 1 of 11 from distance in the first half.

Tyson Chandler added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers, who have won five of their last seven games and nine of their last 12.

Lakers forward LeBron James (23) shoots against Dallas Mavericks guard Dennis Smith Jr. (1) and forward Luka Doncic (77) in the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Dennis Smith Jr. scored 13 points and Wesley Matthews added 11 for the Mavericks, who moved back to .500 at 10-10. They had been over .500 for the past two days, the first time in three years they had been above .500 outside of the first week of the season.

DeAndre Jordan had 12 rebounds for the Mavericks, the 18th time in 20 games he has reached double digits this season. He was coming off a season-low seven-rebound game at Houston

The Lakers improved to 5-1 against the Mavericks since the start of last season.

Mavericks guard J.J. Barea was ejected with 4:08 to play for receiving his second technical foul.

Lakers center JaVale McGee fouled out with 11:28 remaining in the game, while guard Lonzo Ball fouled out with two minutes remaining after scoring 10 points.

--Field Level Media

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.