Five takeaways from the Lakers’ 103-93 loss to the Dallas Mavericks

The Lakers (0-3) fell yet again, losing to the Dallas Mavericks (2-1) on Sunday night. Here are five takeaways from the Lakers’ 103-93 loss at Staples Center.

1) After getting blown out in the team’s second game of the season, a loss in Sacramento to the Kings, the Lakers would certainly come back strong on Sunday against the Mavericks.

The opposite was true as Dallas opened the game scoring the first 15 points. The Lakers were playing catch-up the rest of the way, and while they threatened late in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks’ lead was never truly in danger.

“What I said before the game is, we have to be aggressive from the start,” said Coach Byron Scott after the loss. “I thought the first six minutes we were not ready to go play.”

“We have to come out like we are down 10 points before the game even starts,” he continued. “We have to get that type of attitude.”

The Lakers won the second (24-22) and fourth (29-22) quarters but the first (21-32) and third (19-27) were problematic.

2) Julius Randle had a big night in just his fourth NBA game, scoring 22 points with 15 rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Randle is the first player to put up that stat-line since Kevin Love did it for the Cleveland Cavaliers in December. Only six players have reached those marks in a game over the last five years.

Lamar Odom and Vlade Divac are the only Lakers to put up those kinds of stats in a game, and again, Randle is just four into his career after missing all but one of his rookie campaign to a broken leg.

3) Dirk Nowitzki was a difficult cover for the Lakers. The 37-year-old forward converted 10 of 13 attempts for 25 points in 30 minutes of play.

“He’s top 10 scoring,” said Randle of Nowitzki. “I mean a dude like that, you can’t give him open looks. We were talking a lot at halftime, I think he was five for five and four of them were wide-open shots. He’s been doing that his whole life. Of course he’s going to make shots.”

Nowitzki spoke highly of Randle after his team’s victory.

“He’s going to be tough in this league,” said Nowitzki. “He puts the ball on the floor like no other power forward in this league. He’s strong. He’s athletic. He can finish. He’s a tough matchup for a lot of fours in this league.”

Kobe Bryant also praised Randle.

“A year from now you’ll see him having an unbelievable jump shot. You’ll see him having an unbelievable right hand,” said Bryant. “He’s one of those players who’s going to stay in the gym and he’s going to continue to work on those things and develop them. Then his game’s really going to go through the roof.”

4) Brandon Bass suffered a corneal abrasion after getting poked in the eye. Bass, who scored 10 points with five rebounds, will have it examined Monday.

The Lakers had a clear injury report for the first time in at least two seasons before the Dallas game. Bass didn’t seem too concerned after the game.

Forward Metta World Peace was active for the first time this season Sunday, although he didn’t play. Center Robert Sacre and rookie forward Larry Nance Jr. were both inactive.

5) The Lakers are one of nine teams without a win this season.

Some surprises on that list include the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans. Other winless franchises include the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets.

The NBA has five teams with perfect 3-0 records (Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors and Clippers).

The Lakers are three games behind the Thunder, Clippers and Warriors in the Western Conference.

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.