5. November 1st, 2019, Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas Mavericks- Crazy Overtime win
Their first match up with Luka Dončić and the Mavs was only the fifth game of the season, but it was arguably the most exciting game of the season. The play that sticks out from this one is definitely Danny Green’s buzzer-beating three-pointer in the corner to send it into overtime.
In overtime, the Lakers eventually pulled away for what it seemed to be the first time all game. The big take away after this game was that Dončić had taken his game to the next level following his rookie of the year campaign last season.
He put on a show for the Dallas crowd putting in a 31-point triple-double, with 13 rebounds, and a whopping 15 assists. However, on the other side of the floor LeBron one-upped him with 39-point triple-double, pulling down 12 rebounds, and dishing out 16 assists of his own.
LeBron once again showing one of the game’s younger stars that they still have some time before they are better than the guy who has reigned King in the NBA for the greater part of the last decade. This was the first stop on his “washed king” redemption tour, and any time he got a chance to show that he is still the best in the game this season, he proved it.
Another lesson learned from this game was that this group of Lakers was not going to give up and crumble after going down late in the game. In that past few seasons prior, the Lakers lacked the ability to close out tight games, especially on the road and this game showed this team was different.
This game was the first sign that this team knew how to win together, and that they had a different level of chemistry and trust with one another. It is no surprise that both of these teams exceeded their preseason expectations and ended up in the playoff picture after watching this early season game.