DALLAS _ On a night when the Los Angeles Lakers struggled from three-point range, their most important attempt was perfect.
LeBron James drove toward the basket with the Lakers down three and drew two Dallas Mavericks defenders to him. That left one man _ Danny Green _standing in the corner right in front of Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Green gathered a low pass from James, as Dallas guard Seth Curry leaped toward him, and released the ball as the buzzer sounded.
It swished through the net, and Green calmly walked back the length of the court to the end of the Lakers' bench. The game went to overtime, where the Lakers notched their toughest win so far this young season.
The Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks 119-110 in overtime, improving to 4-1 this season with their fourth straight victory. They capitalized on 23 Mavericks turnovers for 30 points and overcame early shooting and rebounding struggles that left them in double-digit holes against a talented young Dallas team.
James and Dallas star Luka Doncic both notched triple doubles, with James racking up 39 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds and Doncic scoring 31 points with 15 assists and 13 rebounds. The Lakers' Anthony Davis scored 31 points and added eight rebounds and two assists.
The matchup pitted the Lakers' dynamic duo against a different set of elite players in Dallas' Kristaps Porzingis and second-year player Doncic.
The Lakers struck first, but then Dallas went on an 11-0 run.
Kyle Kuzma entered the game about seven minutes into the first quarter, replacing JaVale McGee, who had picked up two fouls. The Lakers trailed 18-7 when Kuzma checked in. He scored nine points in 19 minutes.
They trailed by 14 points in the first quarter but cut the Mavericks' lead to five by the end of it.
One problem for the Lakers was that they shot only 30.4% in the first quarter. While they improved their shooting in the second quarter, their rebounding was lacking. The Mavericks outrebounded the Lakers 17-4 in the second quarter.
At halftime, the Lakers trailed 58-48.
James orchestrated an attempted third-quarter comeback, guiding the Lakers on a 10-0 run to start the period. He attempted five three-pointers and made three of them in the early minutes of the third quarter, and the Lakers got their first lead, at 63-61, since the score was 2-0.
But that effort couldn't stop the next Mavericks push. After James headed to the bench, Dallas widened its lead once more. With the help of three three-pointers in the final 2:26 of the third, Dallas entered the fourth quarter leading the Lakers by nine.
Green hit a three-pointer with 5:08 left in the game to tie it at 92. A two-handed, running dunk by James minutes later gave the Lakers a 96-94 lead.
James stormed back toward the Lakers' basket as the Mavericks called a timeout. He and Davis glared into each other's eyes before pounding their chests together.
With 1:34 left in the game and the Mavericks leading 99-98, Doncic took a hit to the head.
As he writhed on the ground, a gash having developed in the back of his head, Davis and Avery Bradley draped themselves around Curry. When the official called a jump ball, Davis roared as he pumped his fists in celebration. The game paused as the Mavericks' medical staff tried to stop the bleeding on Doncic.
In the end, the Lakers' poise helped them prevail.
