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Los Angeles Lakers (53-13) Western Conference Standing : 1Streak: Won 3 | (40-27) Western Conference Standing : 8Streak: Lost 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Bryant, balanced Lakers beat Mavericks LOS ANGELES(AP) Kobe Bryant scored 28 points, Trevor Ariza had a career-high 26, and the Los Angeles Lakers squandered a big lead before taking control late in a 107-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. Pau Gasol added 25 for the Lakers, who are battling Cleveland for the NBA's best record and are already the Pacific Division champs. They could meet the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. The Lakers had taken the lead in the first quarter and were ahead by 15 midway through the third before Dallas reserve Jason Terry led a 21-2 run that put the Mavericks in front 95-89 with 7:13 left in the game. That was while both teams had mostly reserves on the court. When Bryant and the other Lakers starters returned, Los Angeles soon went on a 12-0 spurt of its own. Bryant's 3-pointer with 6:51 left ended a string of nine consecutive misses by the Lakers from behind the arc, and he made another with 3:36 that ended the run with them up 101-95. Terry led Dallas 29 points off the bench, and Dirk Nowitzki added 20 on 6-of-20 shooting. Gasol finished 12-of-13 from the floor, making all 10 of his shots in the first half. Bryant was 11-of-20 for the game. Lamar Odom chipped in with 10 points and 14 rebounds. James Singleton had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Dallas. Terry took seven shots in the third, all 3-pointers, and was good on five of them. He finished 7-of-16 from 3-point range. Down by 15 midway through the third quarter, the Mavericks began their run on a pair of 3s by Terry. He added two more from beyond the arc after a pair of Los Angeles turnovers in the closing minute of the period to narrow the gap to 87-80. Bryant didn't score in the first quarter but had 11 points in the second to help Los Angeles open a 66-54 lead. Gasol had 20 points by the break for the Lakers, who shot 61 percent from the floor in the half while holding Dallas to 42 percent shooting. Nowitzki scored 15 in the half, but was just 4-of-13 from the floor. Gasol had the range in the first quarter, going 8-for-8 and scoring 16 points from under the basket and on outside jumpers. Bryant, on the other hand, was 0-for-4 in the first 12 minutes. Nowitzki had 10 first-quarter points. Notes: Bryant and Gasol have been especially productive against the Mavericks, with Bryant averaging 34.7 points in his last six games heading into Sunday's meeting. Gasol scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Los Angeles' 106-99 win in Dallas on Nov. 11. ... The Lakers have been tough defensively on Nowitzki this season, holding him to an average of 16.5 points a game in their first two meetings. ... The Mavericks were coming off a 119-110 defeat at Golden State that ended their three-game win streak. Jason Kidd had his second triple-double of the season - 21 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds - in the loss. The Lakers had ended a three-game trip with a 102-95 win at San Antonio. Copyright 2008 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited LAKERS - MAVERICKS PREVIEW The Los Angeles Lakers are the Pacific Division champions. That's clearly not the title they've had their eye on. Two days after clinching a playoff spot, the Lakers continue their quest for the NBA's best record Sunday afternoon as they face a potential first-round opponent when the Dallas Mavericks visit Staples Center. While Los Angeles (52-13) has a big lead atop the Western Conference, Dallas (40-26) is in eighth place but is closer to the second spot than ninth. The Mavericks have only won three road games against the Lakers in the past 18 seasons and are facing a Los Angeles team which is a conference-best 29-4 at home, including six straight wins. The Lakers are coming off a road win over the second-best team in the West, closing a a three-game road trip with a 102-95 victory in San Antonio on Tuesday. The victory clinched a playoff berth and the division title, but the Lakers have more lofty goals. "Oh yeah," Kobe Bryant joked, "we're really big on Pacific Division titles." Bryant, a three-time NBA champion, and the Lakers are tied with Cleveland for the best record in the league entering a game against a Dallas team it has dominated. The Lakers have won five straight in the series, including two this season, and 32 of the past 35 matchups in Los Angeles. In the teams' last meeting, Bryant scored 35 points in a 114-107 home win on Nov. 28. He's averaged 34.7 points in his last six games versus the Mavericks. Pau Gasol will try for back-to-back double-doubles Sunday after scoring 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds against the Spurs. Gasol had 22 points and a team-high 11 boards in the teams' first matchup this season - a 106-99 win in Dallas on Nov. 11. Against San Antonio, Lamar Odom had his best performance of the Lakers' 2-1 trip with 12 points and 10 boards, his ninth double-double of the season. The veteran forward was suspended for Wednesday's 102-96 win at Houston after leaving the bench during an on-court altercation in Monday's 111-94 loss to Portland. "(Thursday's win) salvaged a road trip," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. Dallas, meanwhile, looks to close its four-game road trip by bouncing back from a disappointing loss. The Mavericks had their three-game winning streak snapped Friday, falling 119-110 to a Golden State team which entered the matchup 20 games under .500. Dallas could have pulled even with Denver for seventh place in the West but allowed a season-high 59 rebounds and 28 second-chance points. "The Warriors outworked us, they outhustled us, they got all the loose balls, all the rebounds," said Jason Terry, averaging 25.0 points against the Lakers this season. "When you are scrapping for your playoff lives, you cannot come out and put up a performance like that. We are disappointed, but we have one more game on this trip, and we need to find a way to get a win." Jason Kidd notched his 102nd career triple-double, and second this season, with 21 points, 11 assists and 10 boards. He has four career triple-doubles versus the Lakers, including one in the Nov. 11 loss. Dirk Nowitzki is averaging 31.0 points in his last four games, but has been held to an average of 16.5 in two meetings with Los Angeles this season. Including playoffs, the Lakers have a 60-10 all-time home record against Dallas. Copyright 2008 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited
The Lakers lead the season series with the Mavericks 2-0 after winning last season’s LAKERS SCOUTING REPORT “Beware the Ides of March…” It was a very bad day for Julius Caesar hopefully it will be a good day for the Lakers. The Dallas Mavericks enter this daytime event five games above the ninth place Phoenix Suns (in the loss column) but only two games (in the loss column) behind 3rd seeded Houston. Needless to say the Mavs will be a motivated bunch Sunday afternoon. We must be ready to apply the same kind of defensive intensity to battle the Mavs. Offensively, we know Jason Kidd and JJ Barea will look to push the ball whenever possible. Kidd is especially dangerous when he gets the defensive rebound and leads the break. His teammates know he will throw it ahead so they run hard. We must get back and stop the ball and then find their shooters. Nowitzki does a great job of trailing the primary break and stepping right into a three point shot. Dallas has a limited low post game so we expect to see a high volume of screen and rolls and two man games featuring Nowitzki and Terry. Terry comes off the bench but plays starter minutes. He is in the game to provide offense. In critical situations Dallas has gone back to the old standby that helped them get to the NBA finals a few years ago. They have a call of “EAR” that can either be called on its own or added to another play set which is the isolation for Nowitzki at the free throw line. Dirk with his size and shooting ability loves to operate in the middle of the floor from the free throw line area. Barea, Bass, and Dampier have had big games against us in the past so we must be cognizant of them and minimize their contributions. The final piece of the puzzle is to keep Dampier, Bass, Singleton, and Howard (if he plays) off the offensive boards. LAKERS UPDATES LAKERS CLINCH 20th PACIFIC DIVISION TITLE 50 WIN SEASONS THE COOLER BRYANT PASSES ROBERT PARISH FOR 18th ON ALL-TIME SCORING LIST |