The Los Angeles Lakers looked to continue their impressive two game winning streak as they aimed to end the Dallas Mavericks five game winning streak at American Airlines Arena Friday afternoon.
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The Lakers were coming off back-to-back victories against the Hawks and the Dwight Howard-less Rockets on their current three game road trip and have been playing like a rejuvenated squad since the return of Nick “Swaggy P” Young. The sixth man of the year hopeful has brought another dimension to the team allowing for a smoother transition to the game.
First Quarter
Carlos Boozer started the game aggressively as he nailed an 18-foot jump shot to give the Lakers the first score of the game. After a quick score by the Mavs, Jeremy Lin responded with a three pointer of his own. Jordan Hill continued his great play with an offensive tip-in off a Kobe miss and a jumper on the very next possession. Although the defense continued to give up easy layups the Lakers continued their effectiveness on offense as Kobe played facilitator giving the rest of the starters an opportunity to score. Hill continued to show off his improved jumper as he racked up eight points and two rebounds with a little more than five minutes remaining in the first quarter tied 19-19. Dallas came out on point out of the time out knocking down consecutive three pointers before Kobe was able to get to the charity stripe for two points to go along with his four assists in the quarter. Kobe’s shooting struggled as he continued to miss close opportunities but luckily Ed Davis stepped in to clean it up for two points. However, the number one Dallas offense used their variety of weapons to take full advantage off a sloppy Laker stretch to increase their lead to 38-27 at the end of the first quarter.
Second Quarter
Robert Sacre made up for a poor pass by opening the second quarter with an open jumper and Wesley Johnson continued the run with a nice and-one of his own as the Lakers cut the lead to eight with 11 minutes to go in the half. Jordan Hill continued his hot start going five for five from the field with 10 points but Dirk continued shooting lights out to keep the Lakers at bay. Kobe shot his second air ball of the game putting him at 0 for 8 for the game. The bad shooting looked contagious as the whole team went cold and the Mavs lead increased 53-40 with five minutes remaining. Kobe finally made his first basket with four minutes to go, but foul trouble kept giving Dallas free points from the line. Lin decided to step up hitting back-to-back shots including one from deep on a quick pull up bringing the purple and gold within seven. Young finally hit a shot but sketchy defense from Kobe allowed Chandler Parsons to answer with an easy layup. Kobe made up for it by launching a three for his third make in a row and Young had a nice running lay up but the Mavs kept responding as they took a 68-59 lead to the half.
Third Quarter
The Lakers wasted no time pulling down multiple offensive rebounds leading to a Johnson dunk. Hill continued gobbling up rebounds and put up another put back to bring the team within five. The hot start came to end quickly as the Mavs came back to increase the lead by 12 off a Nowitzki three. The three point barrage continued as Monte Ellis drained back to back to back threes inflating the lead to 20. Hill tried keeping the team in the game leading the Lakers with 16 points. Things didn’t get any better as Parsons nailed another team leading to a Byron Scott timeout with a little more than two minutes remaining in the third quarter and his team down by 23. Lin tried doing his part with 16 points of his own but the poor perimeter defense continued to haunt the Lakers as Dallas torched them from downtown to increase the lead 110-83 heading into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The reserves came in for the Lakers as it seemed Coach Scott waived the white flag early as the team was down by nearly 30. Xavier Henry, Jordan Clarkson, and Wayne Ellington all made their first appearances hoping to log meaningful game time minutes. With seven minutes to go the Mavericks had ten more threes than the Lakers to go along with three of their players reaching 20+ points. Ellington had himself a solid quarter in his first action back scoring eight points, but it didn’t matter as the Mavericks continued to run up the score. The Lakers continued to fight but the game was well out of hand as the Lakers two-game win streak came to an end at the hands of the Mavericks 140-106.
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