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DALLAS -- Coach Jason Kidd called out the maturity of the Dallas Mavericks after they were on the wrong end of the biggest comeback of the NBA season Sunday afternoon.

The Mavs managed to blow a 27-point lead en route to a 111-108 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at the American Airlines Center. NBA teams were 138-0 after leading by that much this season before the Mavs' meltdown, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. "I'm not the savior here. I'm not playing," Kidd said when asked why he used only one timeout in the second and third quarters as the lead was slipping away. "I'm watching, just like you guys.

"As a team, we've got to mature. ... We've got to grow up -- if we want to win a championship. There's no young team that's ever won a championship, mentally or physically."

The Mavs' starting lineup featured four players who are 30 or older. The exception is 23-year-old superstar Luka Doncic. While Kidd did not specifically call out Doncic, he also emphasized that the Mavs were affected by disagreements with the officials.

As he often does, Doncic consistently argued calls and non-calls throughout the course of the game, several times while the ball was in play.

"Just focus on that play," Kidd said. "Can't get distracted with the whistle, and just keep playing. It just happens that way. We've seen a lot of basketball games. When you have big leads, you know which way the whistle is going to go."

Doncic finished with 26 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, but he struggled after dominating the first quarter (14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists). Doncic had as many turnovers as field goals in the last three quarters, when he was 5-of-14 from the floor.

"We lost our rhythm in the sense of just playing the game and not worrying about the other elements," Kidd said. "We were playing at a high level on both ends, offensively and defensively, and then we just got a little distracted with the whistle. We've just got to be better with that."

Asked if he allowed his disagreements with officials to become a distraction, Doncic said, "It's probably true."

However, Doncic didn't think a loss of composure was the primary reason the Mavs suffered their third loss in four games that he has played with fellow All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, Dallas' recent blockbuster trade acquisition.

"You can say that, but we still had a big lead," Doncic said. "Sometimes you're going to lose it, but I think we just relaxed a little bit and we've got to work on that."

Doncic made an uncharacteristic mental blunder on the game's most critical possession. On an inbounds play coming out of a timeout with 18.1 seconds remaining and the Mavs trailing by three points, Doncic committed a turnover after trying to save the ball from going over the half-court line instead of simply going into the backcourt to catch Irving's pass intentionally thrown away from Lakers defend Jarred Vanderbilt.

"It's my bad," Doncic said. "I totally forgot you can go backcourt. That was my mistake."

The Dallas Cowboys ebb and flow in their subscription to conventional wisdom when it comes to talent acquisition. They operate by their own sets of rules and regulations. Famously, after always wanting to make the biggest splash in free agency, they don’t go near the pool anymore. Instead they sit in the jacuzzi and capture bubbles instead of making waves. When it comes to the draft, Dallas will do things like take a RB at No. 4 overall, and throw top draft capital at the linebacker position.

In other draft tenets, they’ve changed their philosophy as well, but this time rolling with the smart teams instead of contrary. No longer is the owner known as Trader Jerry, the guy willing to do anything to move up and grab his guy. Instead the team has held firm at their position in the first round, or even moved backwards, ever since ponying up for CB Morris Claiborne of LSU in 2012. The latest mock draft from Draft Wire has Dallas mixing and matching again, but in a way that seems fairly unbelievable.

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The actual draft has a ton of movement in recent years, with some teams adhering to the rules that it’s better to have more draft capital than less. Others feel the need to strategically grab a guy they see as inherently better than the rest of the available pool; targeting difference makers.

But when it comes to mock drafts, it becomes even more complicated to forecast these moves. Some mocks look to mimic what they feel will happen come draft weekend. Others like to project what they feel a team should do when they come up on the clock.

DraftWire’s mock has seven total first round trades, and the one we’re focused on includes the Cowboys moving up instead of backwards.

Dallas, at least here, has a specific target they are interested in and choose an AFC partner to get it done. The Cowboys and Ravens are working together here, after Dallas screwed Baltimore in their last successful move up.

The year was 2010 and the Cowboys had the No. 27 overall selection with the Ravens sitting at No. 25. Dallas wanted WR Dez Bryant badly enough that they swung a trade with the New England Patriots to move to No. 24. The Ravens ended up trading out of their spot when Bryant was no longer available. In this mock, Dallas worked with the Ravens to make their move up, instead of screwing them over.

The move from 26 to 22 costs 80 points on the traditional trade chart; basically an early fourth-round value.

So not only are the Cowboys compounding the mistake of giving up draft capital, they are doing so for a running back, in the deepest running back class in recent memory.

Yikes.

Dallas could become enamored with the in-state product, and moves up with Baltimore to take one of the best players in this class. Tony Pollard is a free agent (though he could return on the franchise tag), and Ezekiel Elliott simply doesn’t have the same juice that he used to. The Cowboys are at their best when they run the football, and having a talent like Robinson doing it brings a lot of offensive freedom with opponents respecting everything he can do. A three-headed monster of Pollard, Robinson, and Elliot in Dallas would be a sight to behold.

If the Cowboys pulled off this move, along with the suggested tagging of Pollard and an assumed restructure of Elliott, they’d still have a ton of resources invested in the position. And while the Cowboys have been running back heavy, this was never Mike McCarthy’s philosophy in Green Bay, as he cycled through backs with the Packers and now is fully in charge of the Dallas offense.

Not only that, the Cowboys go on to see a ton of talent taken after their move up. Jordan Addison and Zay Flowers (whom the Ravens took) would always be linked from an offensive production standpoint. TE Darnell Washington would be in this group as well. On defense, Maryland CB Deonte Banks and Pittsburgh DT Caijah Kancey were soon off the board, two positions Dallas has to be considering.

Jon Alexis is officially on a tear. The head of the Imperial Fizz dining group follows up on 2022’s successful opening of Escondido Tex-Mex Patio with Ramble Room, another neighborhood restaurant in Schneider Plaza. It will open on March 6. Along with TJ’s Seafood and Malibu Poke, it’s a full portfolio.

Ramble Room promises custom-built booths with black leather, warm and dark wood furniture, a horse-shoe bar, and a private upstairs room for large or private parties with a view down into the restaurant. The space is 4,500 square feet, with seating for 75 in the main dining room and 50 more on the patio.

Alexis has a strong sense of purpose to go with the restaurant. In a press release, he issued a manifesto about the importance of neighborhood restaurants and food bringing us together as “the world gets angrier and society becomes increasingly unrecognizable.” While that’s a tall order for a hamburger, Alexis also makes it clear that though this is a Park Cities restaurant, it’s one without pretense. There’ll be no dress codes or mandatory 30-minute waits without a reservation. Per the release: “Ramble Room offers your favorite dishes in a warm, handsome dining room…and we serve that food with no pretension whatsoever. Wearing a hat? Incomplete party? Need a to-go box? A high chair? Our pleasure!”

The menu is loaded with familiar favorites. It was developed by culinary director and partner Stan Rodrigues, who has worked at various Dallas restaurant groups, including Nick and Sam’s, Frontburner, Harwood Hospitality, and Flavorhook.

It’s American fare in that the dishes are familiar — Swedish meatballs, Italian calamari, a French mushroom bisque and steak frites, numerous Italian plates of pasta and entrees make up the bulk of the menu, sitting next to select classic American (leaning towards steakhouse) options. The wedge salad, fried green tomatoes, crab cake salad, brick chicken, grilled salmon with grits, and a Plaza Burger with gruyere and au poivre sauce: the hits are all here. And, of course, dessert.

That horseshoe bar isn’t just for show. It will serve an array of cocktails, but the star of the show is the martini menu, powered by Tito’s on tap, which will pour at a crisp 38 degrees. “These martinis should make your teeth chatter,” Alexis says and recommends ordering his favorite — a Vesper.

Fans of the HBO show White Lotus can order a custom cocktail inspired by the show that Alexis says is a “seductive resort punch.”

The bar also has a 50-bottle wine menu, with price points ranging from under $50 a bottle to bottles that are a splurge.

Ramble Room will be at 6565 Hillcrest Ave. in Snider Plaza. It will serve dinner seven days a week to start, with lunch and brunch coming later in the spring.

A neighborhood restaurant and bar in ritzy Dallas neighborhood Snider Plaza is set to debut: Ramble Room, from restaurateur Jon Alexis (TJ's Seafood, Malibu Poke), is coming to Snider Plaza at 6565 Hillcrest Ave #150, in a former location of The Biscuit Bar, which closed in 2021.

According to a release, Ramble Room will open March 6, starting with dinner seven days a week. Happy hour, lunch, and brunch will follow in the spring.

This is Alexis’ fourth concept and represents a shift away from his reputation for seafood, following his Tex-Mex restaurant Escondido Tex-Mex, which has been ablaze since it opened in November 2022.

That said, Ramble Room does serve seafood along with steaks, chops, sandwiches, and salads.

Starters include warm ricotta dip with truffle honey and toast, Swedish Meatballs with brown gravy, and French onion dip with porcini chips and optional caviar. Much dip.

There are also

Steaks and chops include a 12-oz NY strip Steak Frite, Double-Cut Lamb Chops with chimichurri fingerlings, Panko Fried Bone-In Pork Milanese, and Brick Chicken with broccolini.

Seafood includes tuna tartare with wonton chips, salmon with cheesy grits, and soy-marinated tuna with wasabi mashed potatoes.

The menu was developed by Stan Rodrigues, who is the culinary director and Alexis' partner in his new restaurant group Imperial Fizz. Rodrigues has worked with Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, Nick & Sam’s, Frontburner (Sixty Vines, Whiskey Cake), Harwood (St Anne, Te Deseo) and Flavorhook (Neighborhood Services, National Anthem).

Staircase at Ramble Room seems tailor-made for dramatic moments.Kathy Tran

Cocktails include a martini menu featuring Tito’s On Tap, which comes out at 38 degrees. The wine list ranges from bottles under $50 to big bottle splurges.

Decor includes a horseshoe bar covered in leathered-marble, gas lanterns on craftsman plaster walls, black leather booths and love seats, and a residential-inspired spiral staircase leading to a mezzanine that is available for large parties and private events.

The 4,500 square feet space is two stories with seating for 75 in the main dining room and 50 more on the patio.

The dining room has 20-foot floor-to-ceiling glass windows, noise-dampening acoustical tile, TVs hidden in the bar shelving, an open kitchen, and a pergola-covered patio with string lights, plants, and a fireplace.

The Lakers came back from 27 points down to beat the Mavericks 111-108 on Sunday in Dallas.

Here are four reasons why they were able to mount their largest comeback for a win this season:

LeBron James’ toughness

In the third quarter with the team on its way back from a 27-point first half deficit, James planted his right foot and crumpled to the court in severe pain. Play stopped because of an inadvertent whistle, but James was slow to get up.

He re-laced his right shoe and after some hobbling, he stayed in the game — though he was obviously effected.

“It’s been better. That’s for sure,” James said afterward. “But I definitely wasn’t going to go to the locker room and not finish the game out tonight. Just understood the importance of the game and then with the momentum that we had, I felt like we could still win after being down. We’ll monitor it the next couple days, see how it feels and go from there.”

James scored 10 in the third, including a few on some grounded post moves when he stepped through the defense.

“Yeah,” Austin Reaves deadpanned, “I told him stop watching my film.”

Big-time shots

With James hobbled and the Lakers’ three-point attack invisible, Anthony Davis went to work, scoring the game’s biggest baskets, including a turnaround jumper over Luka Doncic.

“My confidence is always high. Tonight our shooters, or us as a team, we're not shooting the ball great,” Davis said. “And so, I was just able to be a little bit more aggressive. We were running some plays where I was able to catch the ball and make decisions. So just coming out and being aggressive and doing what I have to do to help the team win. And then just making reads from there, whether it’s going into a pick-and-roll, shooting the ball or making a play for a teammate. I just want to come out and be aggressive every single night.”

He led the Lakers with 30 points to go with 15 rebounds and three blocked shots.

“It’s great to see,” coach Darvin Ham said. “I know he’s having fun, again, playing pain-free. And that’s when you see it — when he’s really emotionally, spiritually involved in game, not just physically. And we tried to ride him a little bit and feed him, calling his number continuously and he delivered.”

This story originally appeared in .