Lakers-Mavericks Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Mar 21 2012 1:22AM

With their three-week slump behind them, the Dallas Mavericks are playing well enough that they might finally be able to beat the Los Angeles Lakers this season.

The Mavericks look for a fifth consecutive victory while trying to snap a four-game regular season skid against the struggling Lakers on Wednesday night at the American Airlines Center.

Dallas (27-20) had the fourth-best record in the Western Conference before enduring a stretch where it lost nine of 12 while averaging 92.7 points on 42.1 percent shooting. Since then, the defending champions have averaged 106.5 points and shot 49.1 percent during a four-game winning streak that has them sitting fifth in the West.

"Right now, it is about getting wins and moving ourselves up the ladder," veteran guard Vince Carter said.

Dirk Nowitzki had 33 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as the Mavericks shot 53.6 percent and allowed 17 fourth-quarter points in a 112-95 win at Denver on Monday.

"It was one of the smartest played games I've seen in the league all year long," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "Very disciplined, aggressive, but not frantic and we moved the ball the way we had to."

Nowitzki has averaged 28.5 points on 54.8 percent shooting (40 of 73), including 10 of 19 from 3-point range, in the last four games. He's scored 46 points despite making 43.6 percent of his shots versus Los Angeles this season.

With Nowitzki currently shooting the ball well and the Mavericks playing at a high level, they seem to be in good position to finally achieve some regular-season success versus Los Angeles. Though Dallas swept the Lakers in the second round of the playoffs last season, Los Angeles has won the last four regular season meetings, including the last two at the American Airlines Center by matching 96-91 scores.

The Lakers (28-18) have won both meetings this season by a combined eight points.

"We got swept last year, and (it's) on our minds," said All-Star Lakers center Andrew Bynum, who has recorded 36 points and 29 rebounds against the Mavericks this season.

Averaging an NBA-leading 28.7 points, Kobe Bryant has totaled 29 on 11-of-37 shooting (29.7 percent) versus Dallas in 2011-12. He's gone 13 of 47 (27.7 percent) from the field while the Lakers have dropped their last two following a five-game winning streak.

After being held to 15 points on 3-of-20 shooting in a 103-99 home loss to Utah on Sunday, Bryant scored 29 in Tuesday's 107-104 defeat at Houston. Bryant also shed the protective mask he had been wearing since Dwyane Wade broke his nose in the All-Star game, and does not expect to wear it again.

"I might donate it, see if anybody's dumb enough to buy that sweaty mask," Bryant said.

Los Angeles, which dropped three straight Jan. 19-22, shot 50.6 percent against the Rockets but could not prevent Goran Dragic from hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer with 28 seconds remaining. The Lakers also committed 15 turnovers and were outrebounded 40-31 en route to having their season-high three-game road winning streak end.

Though Los Angeles has won five of eight, it's allowed an average of 102.0 points during that span.

"I'm concerned," Bryant said, "but I'm confident we'll get it (the defense) fixed. We've responded to challenges all year, and in a way, it's good to go through something like this."

The Lakers might catch a break if Dallas starting forward Shawn Marion misses a third straight game with a sore left knee.

Bryant, Gasol lead Lakers over Mavericks

Posted Mar 22 2012 1:12AM

DALLAS (AP) The Los Angeles Lakers expect offensive production from Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Now they're learning what newcomer Ramon Sessions can do.

Bryant scored 30 points, Gasol added 27 points and nine rebounds, and the Lakers stopped the Dallas Mavericks' four-game winning streak with a 109-93 victory on Wednesday night.

Sessions contributed 17 points and nine assists in his fourth game since he was acquired in a trade with Cleveland on March 15. Sessions' ability to penetrate into the heart of the defense led to points for himself and easy shots for teammates.

"The kid Sessions made the game easy for everybody," Lakers coach Mike Brown said. "He had a very good all-around game. You can see how his speed can help us, his ability to ... turn the corner and get into the teeth of the defense."

Gasol said Sessions brings something fresh to the mix.

"He definitely is a point guard that creates a lot of pick-and-rolls, and gets us points in transition, too," said Gasol, who went 13 for 16 from the field. "He gets in the lane, and he can knock down the shot himself."

Sessions is learning the Lakers' offense on the fly.

"(Tuesday) night was the first time I was really in the game down the stretch, and I didn't feel I really knew the plays," Sessions said. "I went over them today, and I feel more confident now."

Dirk Nowitzki had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Jason Terry scored 23 points for the defending NBA champion Mavericks, who fell to 0-3 against the Lakers this season.

The Lakers ended a two-game skid and have won six of eight overall. They were on the second leg of a back-to-back following Tuesday night's 107-104 loss at Houston.

The Lakers broke open the game with a 24-6 spurt in the second quarter, capped by consecutive 3-pointers from Matt Barnes and Sessions for a 51-38 advantage.

Barnes and Bryant added 3-pointers during the decisive run, with the Lakers building a 57-44 halftime edge.

Los Angeles shot 57 percent (25 for 44) in the first half, led by Gasol's 6 for 7 and Sessions' 5 for 6.

Bryant pulled off a spectacular three-point play midway through the third quarter, first spinning in a no-look reverse layup after Gasol's alley-oop pass. He was fouled on the attempt by Jason Kidd, and Bryant added a free throw that put his team in front, 69-55.

Dallas finished the third quarter with a 12-6 run to narrow the deficit to 80-72.

But the Lakers took control by opening the final quarter with a 10-4 spurt, capped by Gasol's 3-pointer with 8:04 left for a 90-76 lead.

"It was tough all night," Nowitzki said. "You give up (58 percent shooting by the Lakers) on your home floor, that won't cut it. Every time we made a little push, they answered."

Mavericks starters Shawn Marion (sore left knee) and Brendan Haywood (sprained right knee) each missed their third straight game. Dallas is also minus a third starter, Delonte West, who sat out his 18th straight game with a fractured right ring finger.

Marion tried to talk his way back into the lineup, but was overruled by coach Rick Carlisle and team medical personnel. Carlisle said it wouldn't be fair to Marion "to throw him out there against Kobe Bryant" after a layoff.

The Mavericks especially missed Marion's defense against Bryant. In the first two meetings, Bryant went 11 for 37 from the floor and scored a total of 29 points with Marion as the primary defender.

This time, Bryant went 11 for 18, although Carlisle refused to use Marion's absence as an excuse.

"We can't bellyache about guys being out with injuries," Carlisle said. "It's one of the realities of the season. I'm not into that."

It was another tough night for former Laker Lamar Odom, who finished with one point, one rebound and one assist in almost 24 minutes.

"I'm not going to blame it on anything," Odom said. "It's just something I have to figure out."

NOTES: Los Angeles has taken 13 of the last 16 regular-season meetings with Dallas, but the Mavs swept a four-game playoff series from the Lakers last season. ... The Lakers held a 30-15 advantage in the second quarter, hitting 13 of 24 field goal attempts while Dallas was going 5 for 20. ... Los Angeles owned a 17-6 rebounding edge in the second quarter. ... Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's take on Oklahoma City's signing of ex-Laker G Derek Fisher: "I hope he disrupts their locker room...but I hope there's disruption in every locker room but us." ... Lakers coach Mike Brown wished Fisher well, saying, "That's great. I'm happy for him and his family. He's a winner. He'll be able to help them out."

Notebook: Lakers 109, Mavs 93

Posted Thursday March 22, 2012 1:11AM

By Dave Ivey, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Pau Gasol made almost every shot, Kobe Bryant made an impossible shot and the Los Angeles Lakers made Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks miserable Wednesday in a 109-93 win at the American Airlines Center. The Lakers halted the Mavericks' four-game winning streak and improved to 3-0 this season against the defending champs.

Gasol scored 27 points on 13-for-16 shooting and shared the team lead with nine rebounds. Bryant had a game-high 30 points, including a highlight-reel three-point play in the third quarter. He caught an alley-oop pass from Gasol, got fouled in midair by Jason Kidd and still somehow flipped the ball backward into the basket while falling.

The Lakers shot 58.4 percent from the field (9-for-18 from downtown) and destroyed Dallas by a 46-29 margin on the boards. Nowitzki led the Mavericks with his eighth double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds and Jason Terry added 23 off the bench.

QUOTABLE: "Our defense wasn't good enough. We gave up way too many wide-open shots and they had five or six guys who were really into it offensively. We have to do a better job."
-- Mavericks forward Lamar Odom, who was 0-for-3 and finished with one point, one rebound, one assist and one steal in nearly 24 minutes.

THE STAT: The Lakers entered the game ranked last in the league in bench scoring at 20.7 points per game, but racked up 24 by halftime and finished with 36. The reserves were 6-for-12 from 3-point land and combined for 21 rebounds and 12 assists.

TURNING POINT: Dallas missed 15 of its 20 shots and was outrebounded 17-6 during a disastrous second quarter. Los Angeles took command with a 24-6 run that included four 3-pointers, two by Matt Barnes (11 points, nine rebounds) and one each by Bryant and red-hot reserve Ramon Sessions.

QUOTABLE II: "We had breakdowns defensively. We had shot-making droughts and they were able to retake the lead and get a cushion. It was probably the difference in the game, but there were other breakdowns, too, and we simply just did not play well enough."
-- Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle on the second quarter.

HOT: The Mavericks were 6-for-8 from behind the arc in the third quarter.

NOT: The Mavericks were just 2-for-18 in the other three quarters.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: It seems only a matter of time before Sessions replaces Steve Blake as the starting point guard in the Lakers' post-Derek Fisher era. Acquired in a March 15 trade with Cleveland, Sessions stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting (3-for-4 from 3-point range), a game-high nine assists and five rebounds in 29 minutes.

QUOTABLE III: "The kid, Sessions, made the game easy for everybody. You can see how his speed can help us, and his ability to play pick-and-roll and turn the corner and get in the teeth of the defense, and set guys up for easy, what I call HORSE shots. That's where they've got their feet set and it's like when you're in seventh grade and you're playing HORSE with somebody and nobody shoots off the dribble."
-- Lakers coach Mike Brown

NOTABLE: The Mavericks played without injured starters Brendan Haywood (sprained right knee) and Shawn Marion (sore left knee) for the third straight game. ... Kidd celebrates his 39th birthday on Friday. ... It was the 425th consecutive regular-season sellout (20,664) at the American Airlines Center, the longest active streak in the NBA. ... Dallas is 2-13 when trailing at halftime this season. ... The Lakers are 11-2 when they reach the century mark. ... The Mavs had almost twice as many steals (13) as turnovers (seven).

UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Friday @ San Antonio, Saturday @ Houston, Tuesday vs. Houston. For the Lakers, Friday vs. Portland, Sunday vs. Memphis, Tuesday @ Golden State.

• Lakers: Eyenga
• Mavericks: Haywood, West

• Lakers: Bynum, World Peace
• Mavericks: Terry

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
• Officials: #17 Joe Crawford, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #50 Olandis Poole
• Attendance: 20664
• Duration: 2:19