Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Squeaking out a 104-101 victory, the Dallas Mavericks upset the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night in Los Angeles. Hardly. Unjustly. the ugliest manner imaginable. Dallas saw Dereck Lively II fall hard and exit the game with a lower back injury, so although it’s a win, it’s a painful one.

Running mate Kyrie Irving scored 28 points, going 4-of-8 from three (including a big, game-saving three-pointer in the fourth quarter), while Luka Doncic finished with 30 points and 12 rebounds. LeBron James scored 26 points, 16 of which came in the fourth quarter, and was an absolute monster for Los Angeles.

Dubious Quarter

With a 3.1-point advantage over opponents per game, the Lakers lead the league in fourth-quarter point difference, and they increased that figure tonight.

Almost everything went wrong for Dallas after they had a 20-point lead going into the last quarter. The Mavericks were without Lively’s presence as the Lakers picked things up. It wasn’t just the defense, though; Dallas’s attack froze for the first time this season. Dallas had only scored two points compared to L.A.’s 19 with 6:14 remaining, over halfway through the quarter, reducing their advantage to five. With 4:10 remaining, Luka’s bank shot was the only made basket by Dallas due to their dismal offense. Up until then, they were 0 for 11.

It should be noted that head coach Jason Kidd did not use any timeouts to regroup until the Mavs were trailing by only two points, 97-95, with just over two minutes remaining in the game. In the middle of the Lakers’ incredible run, he also allowed a dubious out-of-bounds call to pass without objecting. This gave the Lakers another possession. No one looks particularly good after this one, coaches or players alike.

Two plays were made by two stars.

After giving up a 20-point lead in one quarter and trailing 101-99, Dallas played its worst quarter of basketball in recent memory. Kyrie Irving scored the only three-pointer of the period on a pass from Luka Doncic to put Dallas ahead 102-101. Luka Doncic intercepted James’ attempt to force a pass down low to Anthony Davis, who was waiting, during the next possession. From that point on, Dallas prevailed despite free throws and a thrilling miss by James at the buzzer.

Stars are meant to accomplish just that. You flick the switch and make the clutch play when all else has failed, when nobody else can make a play, even when you haven’t been able to get anything going.

That defensive dream is gone.

It truly felt and looked like two very distinct games. the first three, followed by whatever transpired in the fourth. Lively’s departure undoubtedly caused pain, but it doesn’t account for how awful Dallas’ offense was.

Everything was going so great at first. The Mavs had given up just 46 points at the half, the fewest of the whole season. Although they were playing a worn-out squad without two rotation players and depending on a 38-year-old, the defense did appear capable. But sometimes you have to do that to find your rhythm again! Observing your work yields beneficial outcomes. The players and coaches have consistently stated that the defense needs to get better. And it did, sort of, for a half. Who knows how that will hold up following the terrible end scene? in particular without Lively.

For the role players on the Mavericks, defense is the most important ability.

In the first half, Dallas was out-rebounding the Lakers, had more second-chance points, and had pushed the pace, scoring 15 fastbreak points in the first half to L.A.’s six. Maybe Dallas thought they could coast to the end against a team playing the second game of a back-to-back, down 20 and heading into the final quarter, but LeBron was determined to make Dallas earn their turkey tomorrow. They did, but perhaps this is just one of those games we strive to put in the past and never play again.