Lakers beat Mavericks 114-107 to go 13-1

LOS ANGELES(AP) With every game the Los Angeles Lakers play, one nagging question keeps cropping up: How did they lose to the Detroit Pistons - at home?

Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 35 points, and the Lakers used a 17-0 run in the second half Friday night to beat the Dallas Mavericks 114-107 and improve the NBA's best record to 13-1.

"We're a pretty smart team,'' Bryant said. "So if something is not going our way in the first half, we all come in here and not just talk about playing harder, but we also talk about the execution of it. That's the way Phil (Jackson) has raised us to play and think.''

The Lakers matched the 2001-02 championship club for the best start after 14 games in the franchise's 61-year history. That team won three more games before getting their second loss. Even the 1971-72 squad that won an NBA-record 33 consecutive games with Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor lost three of their first nine before going on their historic winning streak.

Andrew Bynum, playing on a sore right foot, had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the Lakers' sixth straight victory. Bryant was 14-for-26 from the field after going 5-for-17 with 12 points in Wednesday's 120-93 win over New Jersey.

The Lakers recorded just eight fouls, the fewest by the franchise since it moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles for the 1960-61 season. The previous low was nine, on March 28, 1973, at Golden State. The Mavericks became the second straight Lakers opponent that didn't attempt a free throw in the first quarter.

Dirk Nowitzki had 19 points and 12 rebounds in a matchup of the leagues' last two MVPs, but Dallas' five-game winning streak was snapped. Center Erick Dampier, who tied a franchise record with 12 offensive rebounds the last time the Mavericks faced the Lakers, had no offensive boards in the rematch and just three altogether.

Jason Kidd, who had a triple-double in the Mavericks' 106-99 loss to the Lakers on Nov. 11 in Dallas, had 12 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. The Mavericks were 13-for-19 from 3-point range after missing their first 10 shots from behind the arc in Tuesday's 109-106 win over Indiana.

Josh Howard missed his fourth straight game because of an injured left ankle. Jerry Stackhouse, who recently asked his agent to try and work out a trade to get him out of Dallas, did not accompany the team on this two-game road trip so that he could get treatment for a sore right heel.

"We need Josh Howard back. It's not rocket science,'' Nowitzki said. "He's developed into a great scorer for us. We need him back healthy, slicing and scoring.''

Reserve Jason Terry had 29 points for the Mavericks, whose bench outscored the Lakers' reserves 58-25. Dallas has lost 32 of its last 35 against them in Los Angeles.

"They played a good ballgame, but we were better tonight,'' Jackson said. "We had a run that broke the game open. But until that moment, we were really on our heels most of the time.''

Terry's reverse layup gave Dallas a 78-67 lead with 3:48 left in the third quarter. Pau Gasol, who triggered the Lakers' pivotal run with a 15-foot jumper, tied the score at 78-all with an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Lamar Odom, and gave Los Angeles the lead for good 33 seconds later with a layup. He finished with 14 points.

From there, the Lakers' bench took over and increased the margin to 84-78 on a driving layup by Trevor Ariza with 10:20 to play. The Mavericks didn't get another field goal until Terry hit a 3-pointer with 9:12 left.

"We had an opportunity and let it slip away,'' coach Rick Carlisle said. "Give the Lakers credit. They did what they had to do to take the game away. That six or seven-minute late in the third and early in the fourth was our undoing, and Kobe made some very difficult shots down the stretch.''

Kidd hit a pair of 3-pointers to help keep the Mavericks within striking distance, but Ariza responded with an 18-footer and a 3-pointer 28 seconds apart to give the Lakers a 103-93 lead with 5:16 remaining. Dallas got no closer than 108-103 on Terry's 3-pointer with 1:36 to go.

"When you play a team like that and they get the momentum the way they did, it's hard to get it back,'' Terry said. "But we hung in there.''

Dallas' reserves outscored their starters 35-22 in the half, but Carlisle was forced to give his bench more minutes because of an early rash of fouls. Antoine Wright played just 12 minutes in the first half, but hit a 3-pointer and set up a 15-foot jumper by Terry in the final 1:19 of the second quarter to help give the Mavericks a 57-51 lead at intermission.

"Our bench did good things, but we expect them to play well,'' Carlisle said. "That is their job, and we need that every night.''

Notes: Dallas is 7-8 under Carlisle, who started out 10-5 with Detroit 13-2 with Indiana. Carlisle was NBA coach of the year after his first season with the Pistons, and led the Pacers to a league-best 61-21 record in his first season with them. ... Kidd had two steals, bringing his career total to 2,077 and tying Mookie Blaylock for 10th place all-time. Kidd already is among the league's top 10 in assists (fifth), triple-doubles (third) and 3-point baskets (10th). ... Bryant averaged 38.0 points in his previous five home games against Dallas, scoring 62 on Dec. 20, 2005. ... Two seasons ago, the Mavericks enjoyed a phenomenal 38-2 stretch in which they beat the Lakers three times and lost to them once. ... The Mavericks did not allow more than 22 points by an opposing player in any of their previous five games. ... Howard also missed the previous meeting with the Lakers because of a sprained left wrist. He doesn't get another crack at them until March 15, when the teams conclude their three-game season series with a nationally televised matinee at Los Angeles

Copyright 2008 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.

Lakers - Mavericks Preview

In the middle of a five-game losing streak, the Dallas Mavericks nearly defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in their first meeting this season.

Now, riding a five-game winning streak into Los Angeles, the Mavericks are hoping to do more than just compete with the defending Western Conference champions on Friday night.

Dallas (7-7), back at .500 for the first time since it was 2-2 on Nov. 4, enters following a 109-106 victory over Indiana on Tuesday night after rallying from 13 points down in the third quarter.

Dirk Nowitzki, averaging 28.8 points and 11.6 boards in his last five games, had 24 points and 12 rebounds Tuesday, but it was Jason Terry and Jason Kidd who combined for all of the points in an 18-8 run in the final four minutes as the Mavericks erased a 95-88 deficit.

"Kidd and Terry just made play after play," coach Rick Carlisle said. "Our veterans willed us to a win."

Terry, who scored 16 of his team-high 29 in the fourth quarter, is averaging 23.0 points and shooting 53.6 percent from the field during the five-game win streak. In the five losses before that run, he shot 37.3 percent and averaged 17.0 points.

His best game during that skid was a 21-point outing in a 106-99 home loss to Los Angeles on Nov. 11. The Mavericks led going into the fourth quarter against what was an unbeaten Lakers team and were within two points in the final minutes.

"We played the best team in the league tonight and took them down to the last minute," Kidd said after posting a triple-double in that defeat.

Kidd went 1-of-7 from 3-point range versus the Lakers, but he's shooting 60 percent (9-of-15) from beyond the arc in his last three games. He is hitting a career-best 43.1 percent from 3-point range this season.

He was 3-of-4 on Tuesday, including two in the final 2:26, and scored 11 points to go with his season-high 13 assists, five rebounds and three steals.

"We kept fighting," Kidd said. "We relied on our defense and got some stops."

During their five-game winning streak, the Mavericks are holding opponents to 41.0 percent field-goal shooting and 93.0 points per game. In its previous five games, Dallas allowed an average of 103.4 points.

Continuing that trend against the Lakers (12-1) could be a challenge.

Despite Kobe Bryant missing 12 of 17 shots and scoring a season-low 12 points Tuesday, Los Angeles won its fifth straight with a 120-93 victory over the New Jersey Nets. It was a season high in points for the Lakers - the NBA's highest-scoring team at 107.0 per game - but the fewest for Bryant since he had 11 in a 98-95 loss to Atlanta on Feb. 6.

"I think it's a good sign and it's a healthy sign," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "But we want Kobe to shoot the ball well and have big games, obviously. That's the focal part of our offense - to get things through him. We want to have him be the threat, so that everybody has to overplay and always be concerned with him."

Bryant has averaged 34.6 points in his last five games versus the Mavericks and he had 27 in the first meeting this season, including nine in the fourth quarter.

Pau Gasol had 22 points and 11 boards in that matchup, and he led the Lakers with 26 points on Tuesday.

Los Angeles is 59-10 all-time at home against Dallas, including wins in 31 of the last 34. The Lakers have won four in a row overall against the Mavs after losing five of six.

Copyright 2008 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.

GAME NOTES
NOTES & CONNECTIONS

The Lakers lead the season series with the Mavericks 1-0 after winning last season’s series 3-1. The Lakers last lost a season series to Dallas in 2006-07 (1-3), their first series loss to the Mavericks since the 1986-87 season and only the third time ever (1983-84). This will be the 120th overall meeting between the two franchises with the Lakers holding a 91-28 series advantage. In their most recent meeting, the Lakers defeated the Mavericks 106-99, extending their win streak against the Mavericks to four straight. The Lakers, however, are 5-5 against the Mavericks in their last 10 overall games. The Lakers are 14-3 all-time against the Mavericks at STAPLES Center and 7-3 in their last 10 home games overall. In Dallas, the Lakers have gone 4-6 over their last 10 games but have won two straight at American Airlines Center. Under head coach Phil Jackson, the Lakers are 22-10 against the Mavericks. In their most recent meeting, Jason Kidd posted his 101st career tripledouble and his fourth against the Lakers. In December of 2005, Kobe Bryant established a new series record with 62 points against the Mavericks in a 112-90 victory at STAPLES Center. In that contest, Bryant single-handedly outscored the Mavericks 62-61 through three quarters. Last season, Bryant again went over the 50-point mark against the Mavericks, scoring 52 points in the Lakers 108-104 overtime victory March 2 at STAPLES Center. In 41 games (35 starts), Bryant is averaging 25.3 points for his career against Dallas. The Mavericks’ Devean George played his first seven seasons with the Lakers, winning three championships with the team in 2000, 2001 and 2002. In 429 games, George averaged 6.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 18.9 minutes and ranks among the franchise leaders in 3-point FG% (10th/.340) and 3-pt FG made (9th/282).

LAKERS UPDATES

STRONG STARTS
At 10-1, the Lakers are off to their best start to a season through 11 games since 2001-02 when Los Angeles started the year 10-1 and ultimately extended their one-loss record to 16-1, the most wins ever accrued by the Lakers before their second loss. The Lakers best undefeated start to a season came in 1997-98 when they opened the year a franchise record 11-0 and ran their record to 12-1 before losing their second game. In all, the Lakers have been 10-1 through 11 games FIVE times - 2008-09: 10-1, 2001-02: 16-1, 1997-98: 12-1, 1989-90: 10-1, 1985-86: 11-1. Phil Jackson led teams have won at least nine games before their second loss on four occasions, twice with the Chicago Bulls and now twice with the Lakers – 2008-09: 9-1, 2001-02: 16-1, 1996-97: 17-1, 1995-96: 10-1. With their 95-106 loss to Detroit November 14, the Lakers suffered their first defeat of the 2008-09 season. The loss snapped a seven-game win streak that was the team’s longest to start a season since opening the 2001-02 season 7-0. Only twice in franchise history had the Lakers started the season with a better mark, going a franchisebest 11-0 to open the 1997-98 campaign and 8-0 to start the 1987-88 season. This was the second time under head coach Phil Jackson that the Lakers have opened the season 7-0 (2008-09, 2001-02). Only once has a Jackson-led team opened the season with a better record, with the 1996-97 Bulls going 12-0 to begin the season.

POINTS ABOUT POINTS
The Lakers are currently ranked 2nd in the NBA in points scored (140.8) and 3rd in the NBA in points allowed (91.3) through 11 games this season. Since the NBA went to a four-division format prior to the 1970-71 season and expanded to six divisions prior to the 2004-05 season, no team has ever led the league in scoring while also leading the league in fewest points allowed.
Since the Lakers moved to Los Angeles, they have led the NBA in scoring four times (1965-66, 1971-72, 1985-86, 1997-98) but have never led the NBA in fewest points allowed. Additionally, the Lakers are winning by an average margin of 13.5 points per game through 11 games this season. The next closest team in point differential to date is Cleveland at +7.7 points per game. While still early in the season, it may be worth noting that the franchise record for point differential in a season is +12.3 established by the 1971-72 Lakers. The next highest mark in franchise history was +9.3 by the 1986-87 Lakers, making the ‘71-72 season the only year in which a Lakers team has ever averaged victory by double-figures. Phil Jackson’s 1999-00 Lakers rank third on this list with a +8.5 average margin of victory.

LAKERS DEFENSE
Through 12 games this season, the Lakers have allowed three opponents to reach the 100-point plateau, limiting teams to an average of 92.7 points per game. Since the inception of the shot clock prior to the 1954-55 season, no Lakers team has ever held its opponent under 90 points. Only 12 Lakers teams have ever held their opponents to fewer than 100 points per game, with Phil Jackson’s 1999-00 (92.3), 2001-02 (94.1) and 2003-04 (94.3) teams ranking as the first, second and third stingiest defenses in franchise history to date. Additionally, this was the first time since the inception of the shot clock that a Lakers team had held its opponents to fewer than 100 points in seven consecutive games to start a season. The Lakers last held their opponents to fewer than 100 points in seven consecutive games, at any point during a season, from March 15, 2006 to April 2, 2006 when they limited their opponents to double-digits in 10-straight games, going 7-3 over that stretch.