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Lakers can’t break trend, collecting 14th loss in 16 games

Lakers guard Louis Williams (23) is upset over a foul called against him in a game against the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 29.
Lakers guard Louis Williams (23) is upset over a foul called against him in a game against the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 29.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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Their hot shooting didn’t last, and as it went so did the Lakers’ double-digit lead.

Heard that one before?

Third quarters have been like a plague for the Lakers in December and that held true on Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks. Having led by 11 in the first half, the Lakers lost to the Mavericks, 101-89, at Staples Center.

Dallas entered the game with the worst record in the Western Conference and the third worst in the NBA.

“We gotta do something, because at this rate, we’re just gonna be another losing team,” Lakers guard Nick Young said. “We have to figure it out or we’re gonna be the doormat Lakers again.”

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The Mavericks improved to 10-23 while the Lakers fell to 12-24.

“Seems like we’re going to have to take a lot of these lumps before it really kicks in to how hard it really is and how locked in we have to be as a young team in the NBA to get wins,” Lakers Coach Luke Walton said. “After you get hit so many times, you would hope that you start to see that change happening.”

Julius Randle led the Lakers with 18 points while Wesley Matthews led the Mavericks with 20. Harrison Barnes had 17 points and nine rebounds for Dallas and Dorian Finney-Smith had 12 points, three rebounds and two assists. Dwight Powell and Devin Harris each added 14 points.

The Lakers’ Young opened the game making four three-pointers (in four attempts) in the first quarter. He made his first five attempts from three and his first six attempts overall. He finished with 17 points on six-for-eight shooting, making five of six three-point attempts.

Randle made five of 10 attempts, while Jordan Clarkson made seven of 11 shots.

All that is part of why the Lakers shot 56.8% in the first half and had a seven-point lead heading into halftime.

Then the third quarter happened, as it often does.

“We talked about it at halftime,” Walton said. “I was expecting a little more fight when we started the half. I was wrong.”

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The third quarter was when the Lakers lost 19-point leads against the Charlotte Hornets and the Miami Heat during their most recent trip. Entering Thursday’s game, the Lakers ranked last in third-quarter field goal percentage and second to last in third-quarter scoring during December. The only team worse was Dallas.

On Thursday, the Lakers held to form while the Mavericks did not. The Lakers conceded a 23-8 run to start the third quarter, giving up that double-digit lead entirely. The Mavericks’ run included two Lakers turnovers and very little Lakers scoring.

“Honestly, we didn’t come out ready to put pressure on them,” Walton said. “We came out, gave up an early three. I think we had an early turnover. It just felt like we let them get into a comfortable zone to where all their guys just had confidence. When that happens at this level it’s tough to turn it off.”

The Mavericks outscored the Lakers, 31-13, in the third quarter. They shot 52.4% to the Lakers’ 29.4% and made six of their 10 three-point attempts. The Lakers were outrebounded 13-6 in the third quarter, and turned the ball over five times.

“We stopped moving the ball, didn’t get the stops defensively, and they took advantage of it,” Clarkson said.

After the game, Walton asked the team what they wanted from themselves.

Are they comfortable with waiting a few years before their learning curve kicks in? Or do they want to get better this year and show that improvement quickly, as they did during a surprising 10-10 start?

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“A lot of it has to be individual desire to want it now,” Walton said. “Through our failures and through these times, we should grow and become a better team.”

tania.ganguli@latimes.com

Twitter: @taniaganguli

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