3 invigorating takeaways from Dallas Mavericks Christmas Day win over Lakers

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 124-115 on Christmas Day at the American Airlines Center. It was the third straight year they played on the holiday, but just their second Christmas home game in franchise history. Luka Doncic won his first Dec. 25 game on Sunday afternoon as fans back in Europe were tuned in for the matinee. The Mavs won this one for Dirk as his statue was unveiled outside the arena on Christmas morning.

The Lakers had no plans of letting Doncic defeat them after he went for 50 points against the Rockets on Friday night, but number 77 used his supporting cast to earn arguably the team’s most impressive win of the season. Dallas won their third straight game as they moved to 18-16 on the season.

LeBron James scored 38 and had another impressive Christmas Day outing, but it was not enough. The Mavericks were without four key rotation players, but it did not matter as Luka Doncic led them to an impressive win. Here are three takeaways from the Mavs' Dec. 25 victory over the Lakers.

Takeaway from Dallas Mavericks win over Lakers: 3. Live and die by the 3

The Mavs could not buy a 3-pointer in the first half as Dallas scored just 43 points in the first 24 minutes. They were down 11 at halftime and the wide-open looks were just not falling. The Lakers were doubling Luka Doncic, but his teammates were not converting the open chances.

Things changed quickly in the third quarter. Dallas hit nine of their 13 3-pointers attempts in the quarter as the team exploded for 51 points. It was tied for the highest-scoring period in frachise history as the Mavericks led by 19 after 36 minutes.

Dallas never looked back as they picked up the impressive win over LeBron and the Lakers on Christmas Day. The Mavs shot 18 of 44 from 3-point range or 40.9 percent on Sunday afternoon as the team continues to live and die by their outside shooting.