Lakers player grades: L.A. continues to struggle without Anthony Davis

The Lakers cannot solve their defensive deficiencies, as they completely fell apart on that end of the floor versus the Mavericks.

When the Los Angeles Lakers took an early lead on Christmas Day versus the Dallas Mavericks and were up 54-43 at halftime, it looked like they had a good chance of getting a much-needed win.

But everything fell apart for them in the third quarter.

Los Angeles gave up a whopping 51 points in that period, as the Mavs got red-hot from 3-point range. The Lakers made a bit of a run in the fourth quarter, coming to within 10, but they couldn’t get enough stops to truly threaten Dallas, who won 124-115.

LeBron James had a big game offensively, but in the end, he simply didn’t get much help.