Mavericks 98, Lakers 92
Dirk Nowitzki had 32 points and nine rebounds and hit the go-ahead basket with 1:23 to play to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 98-92 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Friday to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series.
Nowitzki’s left-handed close-range basket broke a 91-all tie, and Jason Terry added four consecutive free throws as the third-seeded Mavericks put themselves in position to clinch the series in Sunday’s Game 4 in Dallas.
Terry scored 23 points, and Peja Stojakovic scored 11 of his 15 points in the final quarter as Dallas again outplayed the second-seeded Lakers down the stretch, outscoring Los Angeles 17-5 over the final four minutes.
Andrew Bynum had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Lamar Odom scored 18 and Kobe Bryant added 17 for the two-time defending champs, who now face the unenviable task of winning four straight games. No NBA team has ever rallied to win a seven-game series after losing the first three.
The Mavericks trailed 81-73 with under seven minutes to play before going on a 15-6 run to take an 88-87 lead on two free throws by Nowitzki with 2:40 to play.
Stojakovic keyed the final-quarter charge by making three 3-pointers. The Mavericks were 12-of-29 from behind the arc, with Nowitzki making 4-of-5 3-point attempts.
Bryant passed former teammate Shaquille O’Neal for third place on the NBA’s all-time playoff scoring list. Bryant has 5,263 career playoff points to trail first-place Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.