The Los Angeles Lakers came into Friday night winners of two consecutive games, but that streak came to a crashing end when the team visited the Dallas Mavericks. Los Angeles stayed in striking distance up until halftime, but after the break the Mavericks turned on another gear and beat the Lakers, 140-106.
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Kobe Bryant struggled from the court throughout the night and finished the game with 17 points on a dismal 6-22 shooting. However, most of the blame should fall on the defense as it was unable to pressure the Mavericks on that end of the court. Dallas shot 62 percent from the field and it hit the 100-point plateau before the final period had even begun.
After the game, coach Byron Scott talked to the media and expressed his disappointment in his now 3-10 squad, via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Byron Scott: “I just saw dumb plays. It wasn’t the effort, it was just stupid decisions.” (on @Twcsportsnet)
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 22, 2014
Nevertheless, the Lakers went 2-1 in their road trip against quality playoff teams and there was a lot of take away from the stretch. Nick Young proved his value to the roster with his play since returning from injury and the coaching staff now has another reliable scorer it can run the offense through.
The Lakers will be back on the court Sunday night when they play the Denver Nuggets, another tough Western Conference opponent. Los Angeles will have a difficult time against Denver as the speed and athleticism of the Nuggets will be tough to contain for this Lakers squad.
[divide]Kobe, ‘Things Go Good, It’s Us. Things Go Bad, It’s Me’