It was all going wrong.
Dallas couldn’t miss, the Lakers couldn’t make in the first half.
At least there was still time.
Slowly, the Lakers began to chip away as the Dallas offense slowed, climbing a 27-point hill one methodical step at a time.
And then Jarred Vanderbilt started to sprint.
One of the newest Lakers changed the game with his defensive energy and slashing ability, scoring 15 points to go with 17 rebounds and four steals in pushing the Lakers to a 111-108 win in Dallas.
The 27-point comeback is the largest for the Lakers this season.
Anthony Davis scored 30, LeBron James had 26 and Dennis Schroder contributed 16 and a game-high eight assists while starting for the injured D’Angelo Russell.
In the third quarter, right with the comeback at its zenith, James planted his right foot and fell to the court in a heap, grabbing at his right ankle and heel while he writhed in pain.
Somehow, he stayed in the game — his three-pointer tying the score to start the fourth and his next bucket giving them their first lead since early in the first quarter.
He stayed in the middle of the spotlight.
James again bullied his way to a score late in the fourth, the Lakers leading by points three inside of two minutes.
Kyrie Irving cut it to one on a putback basket with 30 seconds left, but Davis hit a spinning jumper over Luka Doncic with 18.1 seconds remaining to put the Lakers back up three.
The Lakers forced Dallas into a turnover on the inbounds with Davis splitting a pair of free throws to put the Lakers ahead by four. Justin Holiday hit a corner three with 5.4 left to give Dallas one more sliver of hope.
Schroder then made a pair of free throws and Irving’s half-court heave was off, the Lakers winning for the third game in a row.
Doncic led the Mavericks with 26 points while Irving finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds. They each had a team-best five assists.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.