The Dallas Mavericks edged the Los Angeles Lakers 111-110 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Friday after Maxi Kleber made the buzzer-beater from downtown.

At that point, the Lakers led 110-108 when there were 6.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter. It took the Mavericks two timeouts to give the ball to Kyrie Irving, who had already made 14 of his 23 field goals (FGs) to drop court-high 38 points. Kleber set a screen for him, but it didn't help much because Dennis Schroder and Wenyen Gabriel followed Irving closely all the time.

While Irving was dribbling to dodge double-teaming, he found that Anthony Davis closed in below the free throw line, leaving Kleber open at the 3-point line. Irving dished to Kleber, who released the ball before Davis came to deflect and the shot clock went down. The ball fell into the net without hitting the rim, generating the second straight win for the Mavericks.

It was the first 3-pointer made by Kleber on Friday night after missing his first two attempts from the outside. His team went 16-for-34 behind the arc, making sure that they had enough firepower even though their ace Luka Doncic continued to miss his fourth consecutive game.

Five of those triples came from Irving, who also made six of his seven shots under the hoop. He committed two fouls in the first quarter during which he had only four points. Though  foul trouble continued to haunt Irving in Friday's game as he had one foul in each of the following three quarters, he still scored in double digits in every of the three periods.

The Lakers should have won this home game, especially when two of their competitors for the play-in tournament qualification, the New Orleans Pelicans and the Minnesota Timberwolves, both lost on Friday. It's not surprising that the purple and gold shot 5-for-20 from downtown – they made it up with size advantage and better offensive aggressiveness. They earned 31 free throws – but missed 12 – and scored 54 points in the paint, both better than the Mavericks.

However, the Lakers failed to give play to their pace advantage. As the second-fastest team in the NBA this season, they lost to the Mavericks, which have the league's second-fewest possessions, in fast break. Both sides had eight steals on Friday night and the Lakers even got one less turnover than the Mavericks (13-12).

Nonetheless, most of the Lakers' turnovers happened when the ball stayed in play, enabling the Mavericks to score easy baskets in transition. By contrast, the Lakers were often sloppy in dealing with the ball and, thus, failed to exploit their finishing ability and athleticism in fast break.

The purple and gold made some confusing defensive arrangements as well. For example, they have no perimeter defender who can contain Irving by himself, especially when Irving quickly grew hot from the second quarter. However, the Lakers didn't trap Irving at all until late in the final quarter. By contrast, the Mavericks always kept at least two defenders around Davis, even when he had the ball at the 3-point line. As a result, Davis scored 26 points with good efficiency of going 9-for-14 from the field, but he could have been much more productive.

Other games on Friday (away teams come first):

Golden State Warriors 119-127 Atlanta Hawks

Trae Young dropped a double-double of 25 points and 12 assists for the Hawks at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday, extending the Warriors losing streak on the road to 10 games. He had only one steal, but it took place when there were just 48 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Hawks led 123-119 and then Young poked the ball out of Stephen Curry's control before he scored a quick, open layup to extend their lead to a safer six points.

Despite the lethal turnover Curry committed in the final minute, he was still the best-performing Warrior in Friday's game. The competition could have been long gone without the 31 points and five assists dropped by him. Having suffered two losses in a row, the Warriors fell to seventh in the Western Conference.

Minnesota Timberwolves 131-139 Chicago Bulls

DeMar DeRozan scored a double-double of 49 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulls to win at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on Friday. He left a series of highlights including: tying the score at 113 by making a layup in front of Rudy Gobert when there were 20.8 seconds in the fourth quarter; tying the score at 121 in the first overtime (OT) while drawing the sixth personal foul by Gobert; making four straight free throws in the second OT to seal the deal.

The Timberwolves lost their rising star Anthony Edwards in the first quarter when he suffered a right ankle injury. He had to be helped off the court. When he returned, Edwards was wearing a protective boot. There is no clarity on the severity of his injury either from him or the team.

New Orleans Pelicans 112-114 Houston Rockets

The Rockets secured their third consecutive win on Friday after rookie forward Jabari Smith Jr, made the game-winning 3-pointer 0.4 seconds before the game ended at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The Rockets showed remarkable resilience at home by overcoming a 14-point deficit (26-12) in the first period and a 16-point difference (89-73) in the third one.

Brandon Ingram had game-high 31 points for the Pelicans, but he should also be responsible for the team's loss. He got two turnovers in the final five minutes in the fourth quarter and both led to open baskets by the opponents. His side led 112-111 when there were less than 20 seconds left, but Ingram missed two straight jumpers, leaving Smith Jr. the chance to make the game-winner.

Philadelphia 76ers 121-82 Charlotte Hornets

Washington Wizards 94-117 Cleveland Cavaliers

Memphis grizzlies 126-120 San Antonio Spurs

Boston Celtics 126-112 Portland Trail Blazers