The Lakers played with fire all night, missing free throws and 3-pointers. That was a problem. Anthony Davis, who was pretty good most of the night, had about as bad a final minute as a player can, fouling Maxi Kleber on a closeout, sending him to the line for three free throws. He missed a free throw of his own in the final 15 seconds, and then he lost Kleber on the last possession, leaving enough space for Kyrie Irving to find him with a crosscourt pass. Kleber hit the shot, and the Mavericks won.

That, obviously, was a BIG problem.

Overall, the Lakers did just enough stuff wrong throughout the game to make sure they weren't in a comfortable spot, late. They were too slow out of the gate. They didn't get enough from D'Angelo Russell or Malik Beasley on the perimeter. They couldn't chase Dallas off the 3-point line in critical moments.

And in the end, they missed another opportunity, because while this loss doesn't knock them out of the top 10, it pushes them to the very end of the play-in race, just in front of a Jazz team with two games in hand. Now the Lakers need to win a couple games back to keep the pace they need, following consecutive losses to Houston and Dallas. A modest winning streak could still have the Lakers moving up quickly, especially because they play Minnesota, Utah (twice) and Oklahoma City before it's over... but they're not making it easy, that's for sure.

Ugh.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

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