The Los Angeles Lakers suffered another heavy road loss and have now fallen out of the play-in tournament spots.
This time, it was the Dallas Mavericks that dominated the Lakers on both ends and cruised to an easy victory (110-125).
The Mavericks led by 18 after 10 minutes (25-43) and 26 at haftime (56-82). The 17-time NBA champions never recovered from that double-digit deficit and suffered another blowout defeat.
Luka Doncic posted another triple-double this season, with 34 points (12/23 shooting), 12 assists and 12 rebounds. A total of seven Mavs players scored in double figures.
Malik Monk (28 points) and Russell Westbrook (25 points) combined for 53 points for the Lakers, who played without LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Following their third straight loss, the Lakers dropped to 31-44 and are out of the play-in tournament spots. They are tied with the San Antonio Spurs and one win below the New Orleans Pelicans (9th, 32-43).
With seven games remaining until the end of the regular season, these three teams will fight tooth and nail for the final two spots in the play-in tournament.
For its part, Dallas improved to 47-29 and maintained a top four push in the West. They currently are 1.5 games ahead of fifth-placed Utah Jazz.
The Jazz and the Lakers will face each other on Thursday in Utah. On the other hand, the Mavericks travel to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers on Wednesday.
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