The Dallas Mavericks are somewhat of an anomaly for me personally in the Western Conference. They’re a solid team that annually makes the playoffs, even making it to the NBA Finals against Dwayne Wade’s Miami Heat in 2006, yet I can’t say I have any personal feelings about them. I’ve had a venomous hatred of both the Spurs and the Suns during the past 10 years, I’ve disliked the Jazz and Nuggets and Blazers, but I rarely think twice about the Mavericks. I think it’s because their playoff bracket is normally on the other side of the Lakers’; they always have to go through San Antonio or somewhere else to reach L.A and haven’t done so that I can remember.
I do respect the Mavericks though; they have their own skilled 7 foot tall European in Dirk Nowitzki, and a perennial All-Star and 1994 co-rookie of the year in Jason Kidd. Their bench is full of skilled role players such as Jason Terry, and they brought in Tyson Chandler specifically to contend with the Lakers bigs in the paint. And of course, there is the man leading the organization: Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. I want to dislike him, but he just makes me laugh. He likes to get a rise out of fellow owners, players, and coaches, as evidenced by his reference to Phil Jackson as Jeannie Buss’ “boy toy”.
The first half of the game was exciting, fast paced and excellent offensively on both sides. Although the first play of the game resulted in a foul on Pau Gasol, Ron Artest started things off right with his patented three point corner shot for the Lakers’ first points of the game. Derek Fisher had a strong showing as well, hitting a pretty rainbow jumper and following it soon after with a three of his own in transition. I feel like it’s rare for D Fish to have a good offensive game (playoffs excluded), so it was good to see him contributing in the offense. Kobe was playing the facilitator role to perfection, and ended the first quarter with an assist on a Steve Blake shot from downtown.
Unfortunately, Lamar was the only bench player that was truly able to contribute, which would become a problem as the game went on. For his part, Odom was fantastic- he got a number of rebounds and put back emphatic dunks a few times in the beginning of the second quarter. Halfway through, he had already amassed 6 points and 7 rebounds on his way to a 20-10 double double. Gasol continued his dominance of the game on both ends; he hit left handed hook shots and raced back to grab defensive boards. He dished to teammates, swatted shots attempts, and tried to create as much havoc in the paint as he could, with some help from Andrew of course. Pau finished the half with 16 points and 3 assists, and ended up with 23 points, 4 assists and 5 rebounds for the game.
Next: Here come the Mavs
Even though the Lakers were dominating the paint, Dallas was able to erase a 10 point deficit and keep the game within four at the half. They started the game shooting 0 for 7 from downtown and went on a tear where they hit 7 of 8 by the end of the second quarter. Their game is based on rebounding and transition basketball, and hitting open jumpers. For their part, the Lakers needed to concentrate not necessarily on scoring, but on getting quality shots so they could cut down on the Mavericks’ chance of playing the game their way. The Lakers played much better disciplined offense in general; there weren’t any random shots, the ball movement was good and the execution was improved. Everyone stayed within the triangle and it paid dividends with them shooting 56% for the half. They were able to dictate the pace and make the Mavericks actually defend them.
In any case, the Lakers held on to the lead for most of the third, with Fisher being aggressive and stepping into jumpers instead of automatically passing the ball. Kobe got a beautiful left handed layup to add 10 points to his 7 assists, still playing the role of facilitator. Pau showed versatility with his left handed shots as well, and so did Ron: he hit a straightaway three from the top of the arc! I didn’t know he could shoot from anywhere but the corner.
Unfortunately, turnovers played a big role in L.A’s demise, with 6 in the third quarter compared to 3 in the entire first half. Jason Kidd had a stellar night, reaching a season high 18 points on a three that put the Mavericks ahead. I hadn’t realized that Kidd is third all time in NBA history for most 3 point field goals made, only behind Reggie Miller and Ray Allen. He is also 2nd all time in steals and 4th all time in assists. Needless to say, Jason was in the midst of another career night. The quarter ended with a 17-2 Dallas run, and they never looked back.
Next: Still a solid effort.
Kobe hit a couple shots to start the fourth, including his patented jab step midrange jumper, but the ball was no longer bouncing the Lakers’ way. Add to that the fact that Dallas couldn’t miss, and the Lakers are hopeless at defending the pick and roll, and the game was basically lost.
The only Laker that really shined to me in the fourth was LO. He had 11 points in the quarter, including a four point play which is possibly my favorite thing in basketball. He drained one from downtown and got the foul called as well. It was only the 4th free throw attempt of the game for Los Angeles at that point, which seemed odd. On a possession not long after that, Odom stripped the ball and ran coast to coast for another “and one”. 
In the end, Dallas snapped their six game losing streak, the longest of the Mark Cuban era (stretching 11 years). They shot a season high 55% from the floor, and I can barely remember them missing a three pointer in the second half. It was insane. To their credit, Kobe and Lamar both finished with double doubles (Kobe had 10 assists), Pau had a strong first half and Lamar, Derek and Andrew Bynum all contributed as well. The defense slipped in the fourth, but I thought it was more of a question of Dallas playing well as opposed to the Lakers playing poorly. I liked seeing them stay within the offense, being patient and letting the plays come to them. The Lakers also cut an 18 point deficit in half, although by then it was too little too late.
I always want to win, and it’s important to win against Western Conference opponents especially, but I’m not disappointed. It was an exciting game. Even though much of Lakerland is still mired in doom and gloom and beginning to play attention to Blake Griffin’s Clippers, the Lakers are only two games off of last years’ pace. We all know how that season ended. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and there is good leadership in place that knows what needs to get done. They’re still second in the West and third in the NBA. And as opposed to earlier in the season, when they lost because of malaise and possible disinterest, their recent losses have been to opponents playing good basketball. The Lakers still looked good to me and I expect them to do well against Denver tomorrow.