The Los Angeles Lakers appeared to fall victim to a ring-ceremony hangover on opening night in a listless loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
There was no letdown on Friday.
Sporting their throwback baby blues, the defending champs took on the Western Conference hopeful Dallas Mavericks in a primetime Christmas matchup. They looked very much like a team intent on hanging another banner in a 138-115 win.
2 MVP candidates better than 1
In a matchup featuring a bevy of MVP candidates, the Lakers flexed the edge they’ll have almost every night with big games from their pair of hardware contenders LeBron James and Anthony Davis.