Los Angeles @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 7, 2019 ) L.A. Lakers 107, Dallas 97

Anthony Davis is coming off one of the top performances in his career and aims to put together another strong showing when the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Dallas Mavericks on Friday. Davis had 40 points and 20 rebounds in Tuesday's 120-91 romp over the Memphis Grizzlies to become the first Los Angeles player since Shaquille O'Neal in 2003 to put up at least 40 points and 20 boards in a single game.

Davis was struggling with shoulder soreness prior to the epic effort, which represents the fourth time he has had a 40-20 outing in his standout career. "This solidifies why we went out and got him. He was big time for us," forward LeBron James said, noting the offseason trade to land Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans. Dallas is off to the same 3-1 start as the Lakers and the club set a team mark with nine players scoring in double digits in Tuesday's 109-106 road win over the Denver Nuggets. "This is another growth game for us because on a night when our two best players weren't having great offensive nights, the bench picked us up, and then the defense is what closed the game for us," coach Rick Carlisle said in reference to stars Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis struggling on the offensive end.

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles)

ABOUT THE LAKERS (3-1): Davis was impressed with the names on the Los Angeles list of 40-20 performances -- George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul-Jabber and O'Neal. "It's an honor. Great company," Davis told reporters. "To be here, part of this franchise, and do something special like that and be on that list with those legends means a lot to me. But what's more important, I'm happy that we got the win. It was a grind in that first half and my teammates trusted me and told me to get going." James doesn't seem to mind playing second fiddle to Davis and contributed 23 points -- his second-best effort of the season.

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (3-1): Porzingis had just 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting and Doncic tallied 12 on 3-of-12 shooting while the five reserves who played versus Denver combined for 24-of-41 shooting and 61 points. "I would just say we had a bad game, but to me it doesn't matter if I score 0 or 40," Doncic told reporters of the duo's woes. "It's just that we got a win in an away game that matters." Guard Tim Hardaway Jr. and forward Maxi Kleber tied for team-high scoring honors with 14 points off the bench.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Lakers went 3-0 against the Mavericks last season and have won the past five meetings.

2. Hardaway was 4-of-6 from 3-point range against Denver after being just 2-of-17 over the first three games.

3. Los Angeles F Kyle Kuzma (foot) practiced with the South Bay Lakers of the G League on Wednesday and is expected to make his season debut against Dallas.

PREDICTION: Lakers 115, Mavericks 107