This loss, at home, shows that the Mavericks have a lot of work to do before they can be considered in Kobe Bryant and the Lakers' elite class. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)It felt like something was missing tonight, in Dallas.
Most of the players showed up (on the Mavericks side at least), so it couldn't be that.
The arena was rocking and the crowd seemed full of energy for most of the game (for a change), so that's not it.
It's right on the tip of my tongue...oh yes! Energy.
The Dallas Mavericks (25-13) came out lethargic and continued their uninspired play all the way down to the last second of regulation. Don't get me wrong, there were spurts in which Dallas played like this was a professional basketball game - Dirk Nowitzki did have 30 points and 16 rebounds - but overall the home team failed to show the enthusiasm required to pull out a victory against the Western Conference's best team.
"I don't know what's going on but we've got to figure it out," said Nowitzki, who was 11-22 from the floor. "The amazing this is, we're still second in the West, right there with everybody else. It's not time to hang out heads."
The Mavericks shot 34 percent in the first half (compared to L.A.'s 49 percent) and finished the game at 43 percent (the Lakers stayed steady at 49 percent). Dallas was also bullied on the inside as the Lakers scored 44 points in the paint compared to only 34 for Dallas.
It also doesn't help that the guy who is supposed to be instant energy off the bench, Jason Terry, continues to struggle. Terry missed his first seven shots and didn't make his first until the start of the fourth quarter. He finished 2-12 from the field and 1-7 from three, scoring seven points.
"We were more aggressive tonight, especially on defense," said Lamar Odom, who was actually guarding Nowitzki for most of the evening. "This was one we had to take. When we play good defense, we can beat the good teams."
Let's not discount the Los Angeles Lakers (30-9), they played valiantly without arguably their second-best player (Pau Gasol) and with their broken finger, back spasm riddled leader (Kobe Bryant) hobbled. Andrew Bynum scored 22 points (on 8-11 shooting) to lead L.A. in scoring. Going into the third quarter, Bynum was 7-7 from the floor and hadn't missed a shot against the Mavs in more than six quarters (15-15). Bynum also recorded 11 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season.
Five Lakers scored in double-figures (Farmar,Bryant, Odom, Artest, Bynum) and three recorded point-rebound double-doubles (Odom, Artest, Bynum).
Erick Dampier missed two free throws and then Bynum missed his second of two free throws to put the Mavs within 98-95. Josh Howard then missed the game-tying three with seven-seconds left. The Lakers hit their free-throws after that, with Jordan Farmar hitting two with five seconds left to seal an L.A. victory.
Dirk Nowitzki reaches 20k
With 10:56 left in the fourth quarter Nowitzki rose up and swished a base-line jumper for his 2,000 and 2,001 points, becoming only the 34th player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points. Nowitzki is the first European-born player to achieve this milestone.
The crowd at the AAC gave Nowitzki a five-minute standing ovation, ignoring the game that was happening on the court. Luckily, Dirk was fouled on Dallas' next trip down the floor so the crowd was able to serenade him with cheers for a few more minutes.
A very classy moment from Mavs' fans and a huge accomplishment for Nowitzki.
Battle Of The Clutch
Dirk Nowitzki and Kobe Bryant came into tonight's game one and two in the league in game winning/tying shots at the end of regulation (fourth quarter or OT) over the last five seasons. They did not disappoint tonight, either, as each made clutch shots at the end to keep their respective teams' afloat.
Nowitzki started it off, capping an 8-0 Mavs run with 42 seconds left in regulation, hitting a three from the top-of-the-key with two defenders all over him - tying the game at 95 all. Nowitzki scored five of the eight points in the run and had the assist on Terry's three.
Bryant struck right back with points of his own as, unlike the Lakers with Nowitzki, Dallas decided to only put one defender on Kobe. I don't know if it was because of his bad back (or just a bad decision by Mavs coach Rick Carlise) but Bryant should never be single covered with the game on the line. And, if you do decide to leave the responsibility on one player to guard arguably the best player in basketball, make it the one who has done a good job on him on the night.
Shawn Marion did well on Bryant for the first three quarters, then the Mavericks decided to put (recently re-inserted into the starting lineup) Josh Howard on Kobe. Bryant's 18 footer over J-Ho ended up being the game winner as Dallas struggled to get Nowitzki a shot at the end of the game as he had two and three defenders running at him every time he touched the ball - wow that sounds like great way to deal with the opposing team's best player with the game on the line.
Huge Divide Between First And Second In West
The Mavericks, off three days rest, faced a team coming off a 105-85 butt-whooping the night before in San Antonio. L.A. was without Pau Gasol, on the second night of a back-to-back and with their best player scoring only 11 points on 5-11 shooting.
A contender would have mopped the floor with these guys - Dallas did not. There is still a long way to go in this season and the Mavs will after another shot at the Lakers Feb 24 in Dallas, but this has got to be disconcerting to anyone that roots for the Mavericks.
What's Next
Dallas has a day off and then faces the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday night at the AAC. The Mavericks are1-0 against the Thunder this season, having beaten them on their home-floor 100-86 on Dec. 17.
The Thunder are 3-3 in 2010 after a six-game winning streak brought their record to 18-14 on Dec. 31. The Mavericks are also 3-3 in 2010.
OKC is 10-8 on the road this season.
Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. and can be seen locally on Fox Sports Southwest.
News and Notes:
- With the 18-point blowout loss to Utah at home Saturday, and now the 100-95 loss to L.A., Dallas has now lost two straight games for the second time this season (Dec. 4 and 5 @ Memphis and at home against Atlanta). The Mavericks hadn't lost two straight home games all-season long.
- The Los Angeles Lakers also set a record Wednesday night, becoming the first NBA team to win 3,000 games. Congrats, douches!
- With 30 points, Dirk Nowitzki recorded his 10th 30+ point game of the season and, with 16 rebounds, his 12th double-double.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
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