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Randle Powers Lakers' Win in Dallas Homecoming

With his mom sitting courtside, Julius Randle had to show out in his hometown of Dallas.

He did just that, pouring in 23 points, 15 rebounds and the game-sealing basket, as the Lakers skipped past the Mavericks in overtime, 107-101, for their fourth straight win.

Randle shot 9-of-15 from the field, constantly taking his man off the dribble and finishing with strength at the rim.

“I tell Julius all the time that I have really high expectations for the player he’s going to become on this team,” coach Luke Walton said. “Because of that, I’m on him a lot.”

A 10-point first quarter put Randle on the fast track to a big night, but he had to weed through seven turnovers, five fouls and a botched attempt at a regulation game-winner in order to come through in OT.

The Lakers (15-27) hit five shots in overtime, and Randle had a hand in each one. He set three hard screens that immediately led to buckets, and he shot a tough turnaround jumper at the end of the shot clock.

But his best play was saved for the end.

Up by three with 20 seconds left, the Lakers successfully got Dallas (15-29) to switch center Dwight Powell onto Lonzo Ball.

L.A.’s point guard tried to take advantage of the mismatch but couldn’t get a layup to fall. However, the switch worked anyway, as Randle beat Dennis Smith Jr. for the rebound.

The point guard didn’t have a chance against the 6-foot-9 big man, as Randle grabbed the board and put it in to ice victory — the Lakers’ first over Dallas in five years.

It took a collaborative effort for the Lakers to end an exhausting 14-game losing streak to the Mavericks.

Jordan Clarkson was clutch, scoring 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.

The sixth man had two big baskets in the extra period, hitting a 3-pointer to start OT and a pull-up jumper with two minutes left.

“We got our guy back,” Randle said of Clarkson. “He made some huge, huge, huge plays for us down the stretch.”

Kyle Kuzma also put together an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double while shooting 8-of-13 from the field.

Both players were sorely needed after Brandon Ingram went down with a mild ankle sprain suffered in the first quarter.

Ingram — whose x-rays returned negative and is listed as day-to-day moving forward — turned his ankle after piling up four points, six rebounds and five assists in the first quarter alone.

Ingram had been hot the past week and pushed the Lakers to a 31-20 lead after one period.

Led by rookie Dennis Smith Jr. (23 points), Dallas seized the opportunity presented by Ingram’s absence, and fought back with a 32-15 second quarter, taking the lead at halftime.

But the Lakers stepped up their defense, holding the Mavericks to 37.8 percent shooting on the day. Dallas also shot just 11-of-43 on 3-pointers and 1-of-8 on shots in overtime.

Notes
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored nine of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. … Lonzo Ball played 43 minutes and had nine points (4-of-13), seven rebounds, seven assists and zero turnovers. … The Lakers scored 54 points in the paint to Dallas’ 30. … L.A. had a 59-39 rebounding advantage. … A crowd of 20,209 sold out American Airlines Center.