LeBron James, Luke Doncic Triple-Double as Lakers Outlast Mavericks in OT

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

LeBron James and Luka Doncic each posted triple-doubles, but James' Los Angeles Lakers emerged victorious Friday with a 119-110 overtime win over the host Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.

James' 39-point, 16-assist, 12-rebound evening gave the 4-1 Lakers their fourth straight victory.

Doncic, whose 10 career triple-doubles lead all players in NBA history under the age of 21, put up 31 points, 15 dimes and 13 boards for the 3-2 Mavs.

Dallas took a 102-100 regulation lead when Doncic found Dorian Finney-Smith for a corner three with 31 seconds remaining:

Dallas Mavericks @dallasmavs

DOE FINNEY!!! 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/49vW6WGlJH

After the two teams traded possessions, the Lakers found themselves with the ball down 103-100 following a Dwight Powell free throw.

James then drove and found Danny Green in the corner, and the shooting guard knocked down a buzzer-beating three for the tie:

Los Angeles Lakers @Lakers

🚨 Clutch badge. @DGreen_14 with no time left. 🚨 https://t.co/kJ8r7TUXB0

The Lakers started overtime on a 7-0 run to take control in the extra session. James added nine points and two assists during the final five minutes.

Notable Performances

Lakers G/F LeBron James: 39 points, 16 assists, 12 rebounds, 4 steals

Lakers F/C Anthony Davis: 31 points, 8 rebounds

Mavericks PG Luka Doncic: 31 points, 15 assists, 13 rebounds

Mavericks PF/C Kristaps Porzingis: 16 points, 9 rebounds

LeBron James Defies Aging

Very few 17th-year players in NBA history have been productive at an All-Star level.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar posted 23.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game as the Lakers' starting center in 1985-86. Tim Duncan had 15.1 points and 9.7 boards for the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in 2013-14.

But what LeBron James is doing in his 17th season is unprecedented.

The 34-year-old entered Friday averaging 23.3 points, a career-high 9.5 assists and 6.3 rebounds for a Lakers team that had won its previous three games by an average of 19 points.

Those stats made him an early NBA MVP candidate, but James turned it up a notch in Dallas.

First, he added to a record already held and found himself in great company otherwise:

ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo

LeBron James has at least 20 Pts, 10 Ast and 5 Reb in a game for the 185th time in his career, the most in the NBA since he entered the league in 2003.

LeBron James 185
Russell Westbrook 178
James Harden 112
Chris Paul 103
John Wall 55 https://t.co/cf95ksytPT

ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo

LeBron James is the 3rd player in NBA history to record at least 30 30-point triple-doubles, joining Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook.

James is also the first Lakers player with 30 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in a game since Magic Johnson in 1990. https://t.co/TIrJ5Kibzd

ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo

LeBron James and Luka Dončić is the first time opposing players each had a 15-assist triple-double in NBA history. (h/t @EliasSports) https://t.co/kaBNdzxEjn

Second, he played Friday with ruthless aggression as evidenced by a ferocious dunk that a person with 16-plus NBA seasons (and 13 postseasons) under his belt typically doesn't make.

Los Angeles Lakers @Lakers

There's a runaway train in Downtown Dallas 🚂🚂🚂 https://t.co/HrpuIEp2eH

Third, his passing skills have arguably never been better, with this dish to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as one example:

Los Angeles Lakers @Lakers

Perfect placement. Perfect spin. @KingJames does it differently. https://t.co/owcMZfhRF1

James willed the Lakers to a tough win on a night where a 20-year-old superstar on the opposite end went blow for blow with him for four quarters. Based on his early rate, James might turn in his finest season yet.

Luka Doncic Defies Logic

Very few first- and second-year players in NBA history have taken the league by storm and dominated at a young age.

Magic Johnson led the 1979-80 Los Angeles Lakers to an NBA championship in his rookie year. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won an NBA MVP Award and guided the Milwaukee Bucks to the 1971 NBA championship in his second season.

Luka Doncic has a long way to go before he joins that company, but his nightly performances make one wonder if he'll leave this game as one of the best ever.

The ex-Real Madrid star notched a triple-double before the third quarter ended, helping guide the Mavs to a nine-point lead entering the final 12 minutes.

He won't turn 21 until February 28, and he's played just 77 NBA games. But Doncic has somehow notched 10 triple-doubles, per ESPN Stats & Info. That's three more than any other player before he turned 21 years old, according to ESPN.

He's also put up numbers comparable to LeBron James' through their first 77 games, per the Mavs' PR department:

Mavs PR @MavsPR

Through each player's first 76 career @NBA games:

LUKA DONČIĆ: 21.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 6.0 APG, 43% FG, 32% 3FG

LeBRON JAMES: 21.1 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 5.8 APG, 42% FG, 30% 3FG

Luka and LeBron face off as the Mavericks take on the Lakers tonight at 9:30/8:30 CT on @ESPN. https://t.co/oci7vsXZ9r

On Friday, Doncic made a bullet pass from the 28-foot line into the restricted area look easy:

Dallas Mavericks @dallasmavs

.@T_HardJR cuts hard and Luka finds him for the layup!

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Tim MacMahon of ESPN specifically praised Doncic's distribution skills:

Tim MacMahon @espn_macmahon

Luka Doncic has a career-high 13 assists. Several, like that lob to Maxi Kleber over traffic, have been absolutely spectacular.

The point guard also continued his excellent rapport with Porzingis thanks to this lob:

Dallas Mavericks @dallasmavs

Luka lobs it up to KP for the and-1!

#MFFL | @ChoctawCasinos https://t.co/jeXf4sjQxH

He took on the Lakers' top superstars in Davis and James, nailing a step-back against the Brow and a crossover and three-pointer versus the King:

Dallas Mavericks @dallasmavs

Luka hits a step-back to put us back in front!

#MFFL | @ChoctawCasinos https://t.co/STCvAkB2YX

Dallas Mavericks @dallasmavs

Luka hit the King with a crossover and a 3! https://t.co/SGIQ852bjQ

The overtime session didn't go as well, but the Mavs were just one missed Green shot away from winning in regulation. It was a tough loss for the Mavs, but after Friday, one could imagine Doncic and Dallas will meet Los Angeles again in the spring with much higher stakes.

What's Next?

The Lakers continue their three-game road trip against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. The Mavs will hit the road the same day to visit the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7:30 p.m.