Dirk Nowitzki helps Dallas Mavericks beat Los Angeles Lakers 98-92: NBA Play-Off Recap
Dirk Nowitzki lit the lamp with a game-high 32 points and scored a go-ahead basket late in the quarter, lifting the Dallas Mavericks to a 98-92 Game 3 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
This victory put the Mavericks on the brink of the Western Conference finals.
Jason Terry recorded 23 points, including four clutch free-throws for the Mavericks, who trailed by eight points early in the fourth quarter, but finished the game on a 17-5 run to inch closer.
Dallas' Head Coach, Rick Carlisle, praised Nowitzki after the game. He said, "Dirk Nowitzki made it happen. Just about everything that happened down the stretch was a direct result of him either scoring the ball or making a play."
Andrew Bynum chipped in 21 points and 10 boards for Los Angeles, while Kobe Bryant added 17 points and six helpers in the loss.
Both teams shot over 52 percent in a back-and-forth first quarter, which finished with Dallas getting a slim 29-27 advantage.
Offence was harder to come by in the middle session, and Los Angeles finished the half on a 13-3 run over the final four minutes. Shannon Brown let go a free throw with less than a minute left to give the Lakers a 51-47 lead.
The two-time defending champion Los Angeles never trailed in the last period, restricting the Mavericks to five field goals in the quarter. In spite of the defensive presence, its greatest advantage was seven, 58-51, coming on a Fisher’s three-pointer
about four minutes in.
Dallas quickly called a timeout and posted eight of the next 10 points to draw closer, and was within 72-66 heading to the last period.
Shannon Brown gave the Lakers a 79-71 lead by potting a basket 2 ½ minutes into the fourth quarter before another collapse strangely started.
Los Angeles was unable to score on its next three possessions, and Dallas cut the deficit to 88-87 with Peja Stojakovic's 11 fourth-quarter points on two Nowitzki free throws at 2:40 mark.
"We're not good enough to coast or relax or anything. We've got to go for it on Sunday with the same hype from the crowd," said Nowitzki.
Lamar Odom, connected into the beginning line-up due to the Ron Artest’s suspension, had a turnaround to fall just a minute later to knot the game, 91-91.
Nowitzki then took his defender off the dribble and received a left-handed runner to fall with at 1:23 mark.
Odom attempted a short jumper on the left block the next time down and was short, and Dallas increased its following touch when Stojakovic's missed leaner was saved by Terry from going out of bounds.
With the time running down, Derek Fisher hit a pair of free throws with just 18 seconds remaining in the game.
Los Angeles took timeout and inbounded the ball on the Dallas end, and Fisher gave a pass that fell off Odom’s hands and went out of bounds. Terry dropped two more freebies with 16 seconds left, and Dallas dominated the play from there.
Tags: