Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol on fire as Los Angeles Lakers edge out Dallas Mavericks 112-108 in O.T: NBA
On Sunday night at the Staples Center, the Los Angeles Lakers continued to win without their All-Star guard, Kobe Bryant as they defeated the Dallas Mavericks 112-108 in overtime.
This win for the Lakers completed a season sweep against Mavericks as they have won all four meetings this season.
Despite playing without the ultimate closer in games, Lakers have now won 4 straight without Bryant, who has been sidelined with a bruised shin. He has now missed 5 consecutive games this season.
Andrew Bynum led the scoring for the Lakers with 23 points while also grabbing 16 boards to notch up a double-double performance. Ramon Sessions was not far behind, as he finished the game with 22 points. Pau Gasol accompanied Bynum in double-double statistics. He finished the game with 20 points which included two key three pointers while also grabbing 10 rebounds in the game.
Metta World Peace finished the night with 18 points while Matt Barnes also had a double-double night as he came off the bench to manage 11 points and 11 rebounds in the game.
Despite being the leading scorer for the Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki who finished the game with 24 points, had a poor night in shooting as he went for 9 off 28 from the field.
Delonte West contributed 20 points in the game. Shawn Marion had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Jason Kidd finished the game with 13 points and 7 assists to his name. Jason Terry came off the bench to contribute 21 points in the match.
Maverick started the game well as they raced to a 13-5 lead. They held the upper hand for the rest of the opening period as well as they finished the opening 12 minutes, 5 points ahead of their hosts, 27-22.
In the second quarter, Mavericks quickly extended their advantage to 10 points at 32-22. However the Lakers responded back with a 9-0 run to get back within 1 point of the visitors. The scores remained close for the remainder of the half and the Mavericks led by only 2 with under a minute remaining to the half.
Dallas however scored 4 quick points, 1 from Nowitzki and a three from Terry to end the half 6 points ahead of the Lakers, 54-48.
The start of the second half saw a relay of lead changes. The lead changed hands 9 times in the third quarter alone but the gutsy Lakers managed to hold on to a 1 point advantage going into the final quarter of the game, 76-75.
Mavericks started the final quarter very well as they added 8 points into their account while allowing the Lakers only 4 to take the lead 83-80 with just a tad above 9 minutes remaining to the final buzzer. Dallas went on to extend their advantage to as much as 6 points with 6:51 remaining, 87-81.
The Lakers responded back in splendid fashion. Behind 7 quick points from Sessions in an extended 18-6 run, they were able to get ahead by 4 with 2:50 remaining. However from the Mavericks side, Terry responded back with 5 quick points of his own to send this one into overtime at the score of 98-all.
In the extra period, Barnes gave Lakers the lead with a layup but Terry snatched back the lead with a three pointer as the Mavericks were leading 101-100 with 4:16 remaining.
That was when Pau Gasol took over. The elder Gasol found his shooting touch from long range as he sank two back to back three pointers from beyond the arc to give Lakers the lead. Mavericks did come back to tie the scores once more, however the Lakers responded with 4 points of their own, 2 each for Bynum and World Peace. In the end, Lakers were able to hold on to their minor advantage to win this one.
Tags: