The Los Angeles Lakers lost Game 4 to the Dallas Mavericks, 122-86. Here is a quarter-by-quarter recap of the elimination game. [LakersNation]
Steven Almazan: LakersNation: “The Los Angeles Lakers were down 0 – 3 in the series against the Dallas Mavericks before the start of Game 4, and they had a huge hole to dig themselves out of if they wanted to keep breathing. Unfortunately, the Mavericks were able to completely bury the Lakers for good in the sold-out crowd of the American Airlines Center.”
Kevin Ding: OC Register: “In the span of eight days and just four games, the Lakers’ world seemed to turn upside down.But Phil Jackson’s description of the mass destruction at the end of the four-game second-round sweep by Dallas – “It was like the roof fell in on us” – spoke to the reality for the Lakers.”
Mark Paul: Yahoo! Sports: “The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most storied franchises in sports. Their rich history doesn’t include a lot of embarrassing moments like the one they suffered on May 8, when the Dallas Mavericks swept them out of the playoffs. It was just the fifth time the Lakers have been swept since Jerry Buss took over ownership in 1979. Here is a look at the four other times the Lakers exited the playoffs by being swept.”
Jack McCallum: Sports Illustrated: “Phil Jackson walked away on Sunday with an ironic smile on his face, seemingly placid and content, reminiscent of his comportment in 2004, when he hung it up for the first time, after his Lakers had collapsed like a cheap umbrella and lost the championship series in five games to the Detroit Pistons.”
Andy Kamenetzky :ESPN Los Angeles:“Not much in the way of nuance, gray area or degrees. Plain and simple, this was an inexcusable performance by the two-time defending champions. An actual game breakdown strikes me as an exercise in pointlessness. The game was far too lopsided in Dallas’ favor.”
