Mavericks rally late but Lakers hang on
Kobe Bryant scored 29 points and Vladimir Radmanovic scored 10 of his 21 in the final quarter, giving the Los Angeles Lakers just enough to hold off the Mavericks, 102-100, last night in Dallas.
The Lakers led by 25 points midway through the third quarter, but were up only 101-100 with 4.8 seconds left. Derek Fisher made one of two foul shots after that, then Dirk Nowitzki had a chance to win it for Dallas but missed a 3-pointer as time expired.
Nowitzki had 35 points, 11 rebounds, and a season-high 5 blocks, but the Mavericks' five-game winning streak was snapped. Dallas fell to 0-6 against teams with winning records since adding Jason Kidd.
Playing their second straight game without injured Pau Gasol, the Lakers went ahead, 76-51, with 5:44 left in the third on an acrobatic bank shot by Bryant. Dallas called a quick timeout, then failed to get off a shot before the buzzer. Disgruntled fans already had been booing and there were even some MVP chants for Bryant.
But the Mavericks snapped out of it, closing the quarter on a 14-1 run. A 9-2 spurt to open the fourth quarter got them within 5. With 41 seconds left, Nowitzki hit a second straight 3-pointer to get Dallas within 98-97.
Jason Terry, who scored 19 points, threw in a long 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left to trim Los Angeles' lead to 101-100. Fisher was fouled on the ensuing inbounds pass, then the Mavericks called time to set up their final play after he made his second foul shot.
Josh Howard threw a low pass that Nowitzki fumbled. Once he regained control, he faked out two defenders for a good look but the shot was well wide to the right.
Suns 111, Trail Blazers 98 - Amare Stoudemire scored 25 points, Shaquille O'Neal had 16 points and 14 rebounds, and visiting Phoenix cruised to its fifth straight win.
Kings 122, Warriors 105 - Kevin Martin scored 34 points, Ron Artest added 26, and host Sacramento snapped a three-game losing streak against Golden State.
Pistons 136, Nuggets 120 - Richard Hamilton scored 24 points, Rasheed Wallace added 21, and host Detroit routed Denver. The Pistons scored a season-high 73 points in the first half, getting at least 4 points from 10 players.
Bulls 112, Nets 96 - Luol Deng scored 20 points and Drew Gooden had 19 points and 11 rebounds as host Chicago built a big halftime lead, survived a sluggish third quarter, and pulled away.
Heat 112, Bucks 106 - Jason Williams and Ricky Davis had double-doubles, Chris Quinn hit three crucial 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, and visiting Miami snapped an 0-for-March streak.
