Los Angeles Lakers 102, Dallas Mavericks 100

by PegNews wire

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks came close but no cigar Tuesday night against the Lakers, as a startling fourth-quarter comeback fell just short in the dying seconds of a 102-100 loss at the AAC. Down by 25 midway through the third quarter, the Mavericks stormed back in the final minutes of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter, putting together an impressive 23-3 run that kept the Lakers on their heels until the last seconds. Jason Terry hit a long three point shot to bring the Mavs within 101-100 with five seconds left, but after a Laker free throw by Derek Fisher, Dirk Nowitzki was unable to make the final shot fall after a poor inbounds pass from Josh Howard.

The loss drops the Mavericks to 44-24 on the season, still 2 1/2 games behind the Houston Rockets, who just had their 22-game winning streak put to rest earlier in the evening against the Celtics. The Lakers are now in a tie with the Rockets for first place in the Western Conference.

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavs, particularly when they were trying to come back in the fourth, and despite missing the final jumper still put up an impressive 35 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Dirk was helped out by Josh Howard and Jason Terry, who both added 19 apiece for Dallas.

The Mavs got perhaps their worst performance from newcomer Jason Kidd, who since coming to the Mavericks has not helped them beat a single good team yet. Kidd finished with just a single point, along with just three rebounds and seven assists. Most tellingly, Kidd was benched for the greater portion of the third and start of the fourth, coincidentally when the Mavericks were making their comeback run.

Posted by Todd M.