James, Doncic match triple-doubles

LeBron James faced the crowd and sidestepped his way up the floor after a punctuating three-pointer in overtime made possible by Danny Green’s buzzerbeating three in regulation.

James took an extra peek toward the national TV crew at center court, perhaps to gauge the entertainment value of the first matchup of the 15-time All-Star against Dallas’ young European duo of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis.

Davis started overtime with back-to-back dunks after Green’s corner three, and the Lakers beat the Mavericks 119-110 on Friday amid matching tripledoubles from James and Doncic, the Slovenian who grew up admiring the fourtime MVP.

“You never know who you can inspire along your path,” James said. “For me, playing the game the right way, getting my teammates involved and playing for the purity of the game, I was able to inspire a kid that wasn’t even in America. That’s pretty special.”

James had a season-high 39 points with 16 assists and 10 rebounds, while Doncic finished with 31 points, a career-high 15 assists and 13 boards.

According to the NBA, they became the youngest and oldest players in NBA history with triple-doubles that included at least 30 points and 15 assists, doing so in the same game.

The 20-year-old Doncic, who grew up modeling his game after James, had his 10th career triple-double, extending his record for the most for a player under 21. James, who has 82 for his career, is third on that list with five.

James had nine points in overtime, starting with a three-point play that followed Davis’ dunks for a second 10-0 run going back to regulation — following one that immediately wiped out a 10-point halftime lead to start the third quarter.

Doncic had his tripledouble before the end of the third quarter, helping the Mavericks restore all but one point of a 10-point halftime lead after the Lakers put together a 10-0 run coming out of halftime.

ELSEWHERE

• Pistons: Guard Reggie Jackson is out at least four weeks with a back injury, the team announced. Jackson, who played the season’s first two games but has missed the last four, has a stress reaction in his lower back. Treatment and rehabilitation is under way and he will be re-evaluated in four weeks.