Before the game, both Lakers sideline reporter John Ireland and PR man Josh Rupprecht warned me that this game wasn’t as easy as it looks on paper. I would generally agree, had the Mavs not lost their first two home games and were Josh Howard not out with an injury. Instead, Dallas will be starting Gerald Green at the three, and really doesn’t boast much talent off its bench.
I could offer the old, “That’s why they play the game,” but my simple point is that “At Dallas, Nov. 11″ doesn’t seem quite as tough an obstacle as it did before the season started. I’ve also now put myself in easy position for ridicule should L.A. drop a stink bomb in Texas tonight, which is always nice.
STARTERS:
Los Angeles: Fish, Bryant, Vladi, Gasol and Bynum
Dallas: Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Gerald Green, Dirk Nowitzki and Erick Dampier.
Like we talked about at the hotel juice bar, this is the fourth lineup Dallas has used in seven games, while the Lakers have used the same lineup each time.
First Quarter
First thought: Derek Fisher loves taking early shot-clock perimeter jumpers. He hit his first one tonight, which produced (from me) the old “Nooooyyyesss.” You know, like you’re unhappy at first, but then the shot goes down, and it’s all good. Other than that, the story of the first four minutes was … you guessed it … Gerald Green. He was the key cog in a quick 17-0 Dallas run that turned a six-point deficit into an 11-point lead.
Green, who was traded to Houston from Minnesota last season for Kirk Snyder and second-round pick before being cut by the Rockets, has found himself in starter’s shoes with Josh Howard’s sprained wrist. As I was explaining in the press room before the game, the kid may not have the best understanding of the game after never playing organized hoops until the NBA*, but he certainly has a pure stroke. Back-to-back jumpers, including a three, put Dallas up after L.A. had taken a 10-4 lead, and two free throws at the 6:01 mark gave the Mavericks a 19-10 advantage. Now, in fairness, the refs completely swallowed their whistles on two obvious fouls against Gasol and Bynum underneath, but nailed Bryant and Fisher with blocking fouls on questionable drives from the Mavs. There’s most of your eleven-point difference right there.
And whom did the Lakers go to to stop a run? No. 24. He squashed that one with a jumper off a curl, and an and-1 at the hoop to make it 21-15. Moments later, at the other end of the floor, Green committed consecutive turnovers while trying to take his man into the lane, resulting in two Bryant free throws, a Gasol dunk and some chastising from a Mavs’ assistant. Ladies and gentlemen … Gerald Green.
Jackson came with Odom, Ariza and Farmar in the quarter’s final three minutes, and the most notable play from the second unit came on a baseline drive and finish by Ariza. I mentioned last game how solid Ariza is with his cuts to the hoop, which was again quite apparent as the Lakers drew within two at 23-21.
The Mavericks then reeled off nine quick points in about 1:30 of play, most of which came in transition from the sharp-shooting Jason Terry, who finished the quarter with 13 points. Fortunately for the Lakers, Ariza stepped in for a steal with six seconds left and finished with a flush to pull L.A. back a few points at 35-26. The Lakers looked no better defensively than they had in the first quarter against Houston on Sunday, so a similar deficit isn’t surprising. That Dallas obstacle to a 6-0 record is looking a bit tougher, but the Lakers have shown the ability to go on big runs in every game so far this season. When will it come tonight?
One other note: L.A. came into this game leading the NBA in three-point percentage, but it was the Mavs that boasted a big advantage (12 points) from three in the first quarter, canning 4-of-6 looks while Fisher missed L.A.’s only two attempts.
Second Quarter
The second quarter has been very good to the Lakers this season, no coincidence thanks to the strength of the purple and gold’s second unit. Tonight, the group of Farmar, Vujacic, Ariza, Odom and Bynum scored seven of the quarter’s first ten points to make it a five-point game and force a Dallas timeout. During that TO, the Mavs ran a shooting contest for money, and for some crazy reason, the dude who was shooting threes for $1,000 and halfcourt shots for $1,500 came from a side angle. Why would you not give yourself the best chance to get lucky by coming from dead on? I don’t get it. It’s one thing if you’re Craig Hodges and can make shots from everywhere, another if you’re some amateur. I digress … Jackson stuck with his bench until the six-minute mark even as Dallas played its starters for most of the quarter, but put in his first unit (plus Ariza instead of Vladi) after a timeout at the 5:54 mark.
One thing Phil Jackson mentioned in his pregame was how important it was for the Lakers to get back in transition after Kidd grabbed long rebounds, and that was definitely a problem in the first quarter. Kidd corralled five defensive boards, the last few of which led to those Terry jumpers I mentioned earlier. I mention this now because the Lakers were much better with transition D in the second, a major reason why the score was 50-47 at the 3:15 mark … um … until Dirk got a good look in transition off a Bryant miss. See.
Those present in America Airlines Arena were privy to a solid game ops video of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” featuring Jason Terry’s head on Jackson’s body. Nice. Makes me wonder which Lakers player would best perform that dance routine. Hmmm … D.J. Mbenga? No. Luke Walton? Nah. Let’s go with Lamar.
Jason Kidd was very good in the first half; his legs actually looked quite fresh in the, which is why he’s ahead of triple-double pace with 11 points, six boards and six dimes (plus two steals), and probably the biggest reason the Mavericks took a six-point lead into the halftime locker room. It could have been worse, but Gasol managed five points in the final minute of the quarter to tie him with Bryant at 13 for the Lakers’ high.
Two Mavs free throws on a touchy pushing foul plus a Dirk jumper made it a six-point game at the break, which actually seems low after the Mavericks controlled the entire half. Perhaps that speaks, yet again this season, to L.A.’s overall ability. Because if you’re Dallas, here’s what you saw: Kidd was terrific, the crowd was going nuts, the refs were putting you on the foul line every minute (Dallas made 14-of-15 free throws), you shot the ball very well (52.5 percent), you blocked seven shots, outrebounded the second-best rebounding team in the league, and held the Lakers without a single three-pointer. But you only lead by six?
Third Quarter
Question: How did the Lakers look at the start of the third?
Answer: Sloppy. Very sloppy.
Question: Did Dallas capitalize?
Answer: No. L.A. scored just five points in the first five minutes of the period, and really wasn’t getting many good looks at the hoop. But the Mavs scored only eight points, and after Bryant hit two free throws at the 6:42 mark, Dallas led by only seven points. We’re still waiting for the Lakers to pick it up.
Question: Was Phil Jackson happy with his squad’s play out of the half?
Answer: Yes. But only to people that think “The Hills” is a real show.
Question: Why am I writing in Q&A format?
Answer: I don’t know.
Question: Why are the Mavericks getting a ton of wide-open looks from three (two from Jason Kidd on one possession, both ugly bricks) and three offensive boards on the same possession resulting in a Dampier dunk?
Answer: I don’t know. But consecutive buckets from Gasol and Farmar made it a seven-point game yet again before Green hit a nice running bank shot. OK, Q&A isn’t working.
Glad I stopped that … A Vujacic jumper, Odom leaner and Farmar steal and layup quickly brought the Lakers to within four at 77-73, though Green again answered with a jumper. Then came the biggest play of the game to that point, a baseline three with two seconds left from Odom that made it 79-76 after three, when Dallas had again jumped up by double digits just moments earlier. It was the first three of the game for L.A., who had the Mamba waiting patiently on the bench, simply waiting to be deployed for a fourth-quarter run. While I can give Dallas a lot of credit for playing very hard defensively, attacking the offensive glass with abandon and making the shots afforded to them, the Lakers have to feel good about trailing by just three with 12 minutes on the clock.
One stat I wouldn’t have believed had you told me before the game: Dallas grabbed 18 offensive boards in the first three quarters, including 10 (10!) from Erick Dampier. The Lakers did grab 15 of their own, however.
Fourth Quarter
WOW. Ladies and gentlemen, Gerald Green! How about by far the biggest hammer dunk I’ve seen this season, on a Lakers’ player I already forgot about. You’ll see that a few times on ESPN later…
Now, that’s the kind of play that can truly carry a team through a quarter, especially with the home crowd going freaking crazy. But what did the Lakers do in response? How about a 7-0 run, all on cold-blooded plays:
A) Vujacic pulls up in transition for a three just seconds after Green’s rim-rattler
B) Odom slithers to the hoop and finishes a difficult layup despite getting mauled
C) Ariza gathers a loose ball, slips past three Mavs defenders who’d been in pursuit, and goes up for an “NBA JAM” style two-handed behind-the-head slam to give the Lakers a 83-81 lead, their first time leading since early in the first quarter.
Double that “WOW.” Kobe was on the bench for that stretch, by the way.
But a minute later came Kobe, entering the game with a hammer dunk of his own in the lane to put L.A. up four. Gasol made it six with a jumper after Bryant contested a layup from DeSagna Diop (always loved that name), and Dallas would have been in big trouble had Stackhouse not pulled back five straight points with a three and a tough driving layup.
The action waned not a bit, with Bryant nailing a deep two-pointer. Bryant struck again with a stupid fake-one-way, turn-around-the-other-and-fade-away swish from 17 feet. Then, after Fish cleared a tough rebound in traffic, came a Bryant slash to the hoop, plus the harm, to make it 94-86 Lake Show.
Can we triple the “WOW?” What a session of hoops. Remember how I’d wondered when L.A. would make its run? Well, there it was. But you knew Mamba was coming, didn’t you? That’s nine points for Kobe in about two minutes.
Jason Kidd offered a temporary lifeline to his teammates with a tough and-1, but Ariza answered right back with an and-1 of his own on a Bryant pass out of a coming double-team, leaving the Mavs four minutes to try and find a cloud to shadow the purple and gold storm. As such, five straight points off a Stack three and two Terry FTs were a good start towards that end, leaving the Lakers with a three-point edge with 3:48 remaining.
Here’s the play-by-play from the final three minutes, which featured some fantastic defense: L.A. went to Gasol on the low block to take advantage of the mismatch with Dirk defending, and were rewarded with two free throws. Stackhouse then came back with two free throws of his own, then forced Bryant into a miss from 19 feet. Odom held Dampier after a Dirk miss from three, though Damp missed 1-of-2 shots. A great defensive possession from the Mavs forced a late shot-clock turnover, but the Lakers responded with an equally impressive defensive stance that forced Stackhouse to miss a deep jumper.
Then, with 1:17 remaining, Nowitzki missed a great look at a triple, but so did Fish with 1:07 left, keeping it a 99-97 Lakers’ lead with Dallas holding possession. The defense had been so good on both ends that no one has made a shot since the 2:50 mark, and the Lakers hadn’t scored since 3:27 remained. Surely, this type of game shouldn’t be happening in early November.
Seconds later, OH what a block from Ariza … Remember when Hakim Warrick sprinted across the floor to swat away a Kansas three attempt at the buzzer when Carmelo led the Syracuse Orange to the National Championship in 2003? Yeah … just like that, with Stackhouse in the corner.
L.A.’s dagger came from Pau Gasol, whose put-back plus the harm on a Fisher miss gave the Lakers a five-point lead and completely deflated the building, even as the crowd seemed excited just to have witnessed such a contest. That’s 22 and 11 from Gasol, who’s been fantastic. Fish then countered Jason Terry’s six-footer with two free throws, and Dallas had 12.2 seconds left to climb out of a 104-99 hole. Two more Fish FTs and a Dallas turnover, and the Lakers were 6-0.
So there you have it: A great win in a great game from an opponent that played great. See you in New Orleans.
