Five takeaways from the Lakers’ 109-97 loss to the Dallas Mavericks

Without Dirk Nowitzki, the Dallas Mavericks halted the Lakers’ winning streak at three, dropping Los Angeles’ record to 4-4.

Here are five takeaways from the Lakers’ first defeat this season at Staples Center, a 109-97 loss to the Mavericks.

1. Lakers Coach Walton didn’t hesitate to say “yes” when asked whether he was getting enough out of Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov. Because of Larry Nance Jr.’s concussion, the Lakers didn’t sub out Deng as quickly as they have in other games. He played the entire first quarter, which the Lakers finished leading by two. Deng finished the game playing 30 minutes with two points, five rebounds and three assists. Mozgov played only 20 minutes and finished with four points, one assist and two rebounds.

2. Walton added this about the two veteran free agent acquisitions: “They’ve been great. They do all the little things for us. It’s tough because you’re trying to develop young guys at the same time. Would I feel comfortable with Mozgov and Luol finishing the game? One hundred percent. Absolutely. But I feel like if our young guys are playing at a high enough level, then it’s a great opportunity if we can still win and get them those end of [game] type of situations where you really have to execute, you really have to defend.”

3. Heading into this season, Harrison Barnes averaged 10.1 points per game. So far this season, he’s averaging 22.3 points per game. That number is boosted by the fact that Barnes has eclipsed 30 points in each of his last two games. He scored 31 points against the Lakers.

4. Julius Randle, Nick Young, D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Lou Williams all hit double figures. Walton liked what he saw in the team’s passing, but he noted the Lakers struggled when the Mavericks implemented a zone defense.

5. Walton was better pleased with the Lakers’ performance in the second half than he was in the first half. What’s interesting about that is that the Lakers led only briefly in the second half, while they led for most of the first half. It hints at his staying true to his word that he would not judge the Lakers’ progress by the end result.

tania.ganguli@latimes.com

Twitter: @taniaganguli