Third Quarter
In order for the Lakers to retake control of this game, they were needing to drastically limit the amount of turnovers and continue feeding their big men in the post. Kobe Bryant was also needing to set himself in motion, scoring only five points in the first half. Also, the Mavericks were needing to be limited from three-point range, as a majority of their baskets at the end of the second quarter resulted from shots beyond the arc. Dirk Nowitzki was also needing to be offensively shot down, as he only had eight points in the first half which assisted the Lakers in staying ahead most of the half.
A duo of nice baskets from the Lakers to start the half put them up four points early, but a miss from Bryant and another turnover by L.A. showed that they were resulting to their old ways despite the half time talk from Coach Mike Brown. Pau Gasol executed a Nowitzky like fade away bank shot while drawing a foul to get himself to the line. The missed free throw attempt was cleaned up easily by Metta World Peace, who completed the impressive four point play. With the duo of Gasol and Bynum becoming more active and receiving the ball in the paint, they continued to draw fouls and lay in buckets to slightly keep Los Angeles ahead.
Derek Fisher started getting back to his old ways offensively, scoring nine points including an impressive three to answer the three Jason Kidd just threw up for the Mavs. Dallas punished the Lakers for their two turnovers in less than 10 seconds by retaking the lead of the game off of a combination of a Nowitzki three and a Terry jumper. Bryant’s poor game continued as he kept taking poor shot attempts and refusing to pass the ball, easily resulting in the Mavericks double team and consecutive offensive plays without any points scored.
A fabulous shot by Kobe Bryant while drawing a foul gave fans a glimpse of the player who hadn’t been making an impact for most of the game, but the missed free throw reminded us of how the first three quarters of the game had been going. The Mavericks closed out the quarter on an 8-6 run, once again typing the game up at 72.
Fourth Quarter
Matt Barnes continued proving his worth off of the bench at the beginning of the fourth quarter, receiving a nice pass off of Gasol to lay into the basket. Blake, Barnes initiated some excellent ball movement around the arc until Goudelock was open for the three, but he was not seeming as lucky as he was in the first half of the game, missing three attempts in a row. Luckily for L.A., their defense was keeping them alongside Dallas, although Kobe Bryant at one point had more turnovers than executed field goals. Vince Carter, who dropped 18 points in the first half, was not seeming to be as lucky as he only had two points in the second half with nine minutes remaining in the game.
Los Angeles began looking towards quicker ball movement and winding down the shot clock by completing passes to rejuvenate their weak offense, at one point finding Kobe Bryant with six tenths of a second remaining on the shot clock in the paint to draw a foul and get himself to the line for an easy two points. Dallas began drawing in a lot of fouls as well, frustrating the Lakers defense while they continued tallying up points from the free throw line. Nowitzki started hitting the difficult fade away jumpers that coasted the Mavs over the Heat in the finals, forcing the Lakers offense to finally step up and demand control of the game. A stellar three followed by back to back trips to the line for a total of eight points kept the game at a tie with six minutes remaining.
Andrew Bynum showcased some of his great offensive rebounding skills as the Lakers put up four shots in one possession, eventually drawing in another foul leading to another trip to the line. Both teams were having to make all of their free throws if they were wanting to leave American Airlines Center with a win. Derek Fisher proved why he should be in the game in crunch time with a perfect three pointer to put the Lakers up by a huge five points after what seemed like a game that had been tied for ages. Fisher, who had scored the game winning three-pointer versus the Mavericks in the game earlier this season, hit a season high 14 points with a floating layup, putting the Lakers on a 9-0 run. Los Angeles also continued grabbing offensive rebounds, keeping the ball out of the Mavs hands as the clock continued to run down.
Although the Lakers lost a 14 point lead and once again allowed their opponent to get themselves back into the game, the play from Gasol and Bynum kept them dominant in the paint and ahead as the game came to a close. The Mavericks started giving up turnovers in the closing seconds, and were simply unable to compete with both of the big men in the paint. Back to back tremendous assists to the post by Bryant feeding first Gasol and then Bynum led to back to back buckets, and the Lakers looked as if they were going to finish this game off simply.
Dallas then proved why they were the current champions, pulling off a mass of baskets to cut the Lakers lead all the way down to two with a little over 28 seconds remaining in the game. Two missed free throws by Kobe Bryant kept Dallas in the game, and had the fans on their feet bringing even more energy to the floor.
Despite all the missed free throws the Lakers managed to hold on and get the win, 96-91. It was a very good road victory for a team that desperately needed one.
