LOS ANGELES — Over and over again, sitting in front of his locker after the game, Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis repeated how tough it was to stomach Friday night's 111-110 loss to the Dallas Mavericks at the buzzer.
Tough because his closeout wasn't enough of a deterrent to stop Mavs forward Maxi Kleber from getting off the game-winning 3 with 0.2 seconds left on the clock. Tough because the shot from Kleber was preceded by Davis going 1-for-2 from the foul line with 6.7 seconds left, failing to give L.A. a three-point cushion that would have at least made Kleber's shot force overtime rather than win it outright.
Tough because just before that with 7.2 seconds left, with the Lakers leading by four, Davis fouled Kleber on a 3-point attempt, and Kleber drained all three free throws to bring Dallas within one.
«I already came in and told them the last play was my fault,» said Davis, who has taken the blame for a loss twice in the Lakers' past four games, with the other loss coming in Houston when he had to sit out because of a lingering foot injury.
And tough, Davis said, because on a night when four other teams surrounding L.A. in the standings — Golden State, Minnesota, New Orleans and Portland — all lost, the Lakers failed to capitalize.
«It's tough all the way across the board,» Davis said after his 26 points and 10 rebounds were for naught.
Instead, all the momentum swung to the Mavs. Playing on the road without Luka Doncic and welcoming Kyrie Irving back to the lineup after a three-game absence because of right foot soreness, the Mavs came in and took it.
The win moved Dallas to No. 6 in the Western Conference at 36-35, and they won the season series against L.A. 2-1.
The Lakers are No. 10 in the West at
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