5 Peaks and 5 pits from the Dallas Mavericks' season thus far

1. Peak: Mavericks knock off Lakers again after Dante Exum's dagger

As if having one victory over the Los Angeles Lakers wasn't enough for this list, the Dallas Mavericks and Dante Exum ensured that there would be another after the Mavericks outlasted the Lakers 127-125 in yet another clutch-time thriller. Exum made his fourth start in a row for Dallas, and it was easily his most impactful game since joining the Mavs as he finished with 26 points off of 7-9 shooting from 3-point range.

Exum's fifth 3-pointer of the fourth quarter was a dagger in the right corner off a pass from Tim Hardaway Jr. with only 52.1 seconds left to put Dallas up 127-121. Exum couldn't have thrived from downtown without the attention that Luka Doncic drew from the Lakers' defense though, as Doncic was getting deep into the paint and making spectacular kick-out passes all night en route to 17 assists.

Doncic had a decent 12-28 shooting night for 33 points, but the command he's exhibiting of this Mavericks offense is at an all-time high. Doncic is making some of the most obscure passes and reads look rudimentary, and not just Exum is benefiting from this.

Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with 32 points on the night and was a huge benefactor of the dishing and spacing provided by Doncic, but Hardaway Jr. tapped into a different mode on Tuesday night against the Lakers and ran the floor for a flurry of transition dunks and layups. Hardaway Jr. arguably gave himself the upper hand in the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award race Tuesday night against Los Angeles, as he out-dueled fellow stellar sixth-man Austin Reaves.

The game was an insane wire-to-wire victory for Dallas despite having multiple players out, as Derrick Jones Jr. missed the game with a quad contusion that he sustained after only six minutes of playing time in the Mavericks' game against the Grizzlies on Monday night.

Dallas was already without the likes of Kyrie Irving, Josh Green, and Maxi Kleber before heading into Tuesday night's matchup against the Lakers, but luckily regained the services of Grant Williams who had missed the previous three games due to injury. Williams had a great game upon returning from injury, scoring 19 points on 7-9 shooting from the field.

Dallas got some hefty contributions from some of their most key role players in last night's exciting victory over Dallas, and it was certainly one of the biggest highs this season for this Mavericks squad.

We'll see how sustainable Tuesday night was soon though, as Dallas may have to carry the burden of some recurring injury woes in their next stretch. Whether the Dallas Mavericks are peaking or in a pit though, we'll have you covered with the latest from the team, so stay tuned.