Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol lead Los Angeles Lakers to a 109-93 win over Dallas Mavericks - NBA Recap
On Wednesday night, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol played a pivotal role to help the Los Angeles Lakers stop their 2-game skid by defeating Dallas Mavericks, 109-93 here at American Airlines Center.
Bryant tallied a game high 30 while Gasol collected 27 points to go with 9 boards as Lakers brought Dallas’s 4 game winning streak to a halt. Reserves Matt Barnes poured in 11 and Ramon Sessions, who played his 4th game
after the trade, chipped in with 17 points.
Dirk Nowitzki tallied a game high 26 points and 10 rebounds for the defending NBA Champions while Jason Terry recorded 23 points as the Mavs dropped their 21st game of the season.
Lakers made a strong showing in the 2nd quarter and although the Mavs remained in the hunt, the lead that LAL drew in that frame haunted the hosts throughout.
Dallas managed to take a 15-8 lead and stretched it to 21-15 before Lakers reduced the gap to 29-27 by the end of frame.
Lamar Odom split a pair of free throws to score the first point of the night against his ex-franchise and Nowitzki followed that with a deuce to hand the Mavs a 32-27 advantage. But, they went ice cold afterwards and Lakers pulled
off a huge 24-6 spurt for 51-38 lead. Los Angeles took the lead to 57-44 by the end of 1st half.
Mavericks trimmed down the lead to 59-52 early in the 3rd stanza by reeling off an 8-2 run; however the away side quickly redeemed their double digit 69-55 lead with a 10-3 response. With 2:39 in hand, they were leading
by 77-65, but Dallas capped off the segment with a 7-2 run to make it an eight point game going into the last quarter.
Sessions opened that decisive frame with a 3-pointer which started a 14-6 spurt, allowing the Lakers a 94-78 lead. That effectively sealed the deal for the Lakers as they pulled off yet another win over the team that swept them
out of the Western Conference semifinals last season.
Lakers have now improved to 10-15 on the road and are amongst the top 3 contenders for the playoffs in Western Conference.
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