National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
L.A. Lakers 109, Dallas 93
When: 9:30 PM ET, Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Officials: #17 Joe Crawford, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #50 Olandis Poole
Attendance: 20664

LAKERS 109, MAVERICKS 93: Kobe Bryant scored 30 points, Pau Gasol added 27 and Ramon Sessions had his best game with the Lakers as visiting Los Angeles halted Dallas' four-game winning streak.

With Kobe-stopper Shawn Marion out of the lineup with a knee injury, Dallas couldn't slow the NBA's leading scorer. Bryant made 11 of 18 shots after averaging 14.5 points in the first two meetings with Dallas (27-21).

Gasol was 13 of 16 and had nine rebounds for the Lakers (29-18), who snapped a two-game road losing streak and are 3-0 against Dallas this season.

Sessions had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting - 3 of 4 on 3-pointers - and added nine assists and five rebounds. Matt Barnes had 11 points and nine rebounds.

Sessions, acquired from Cleveland in a trade Thursday, was finally given some playing time and some touches. It seems just a matter of time before he replaces Steve Blake as starting point guard, but coach Mike Brown has yet to make that commitment.

Dirk Nowitzki had 26 points and 10 rebounds for Dallas. Sixth man Jason Terry had 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting

After taking a 21-15 lead midway through the first quarter, the Mavericks fell apart as the quarter ended and were worse in the second, making 5 of 20 field goals.

The Lakers outscored the Mavericks 30-15 in the second and led 57-44 at halftime. Sessions had 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and seven assists in the first half.

After the rough first half, Dallas made inroads in the third quarter, outscoring the Lakers 28-23 and trailed 80-72 as the fourth quarter started. The Mavericks never got closer.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Dallas was also missing starting center Brendan Haywood, also with a knee injury. ... The Lakers shot 56.8 percent in the first half, while Dallas was 1 of 11 from 3-point range in the first half. ... Former Laker Lamar Odom, reduced to a bit player, was scoreless for Dallas. ... The Lakers have won 13 of the last 16 regular season meetings with the Mavericks. ... The Lakers enjoyed a 46-29 rebounding edge.
Top Game Performances
 
L.A. Lakers   Dallas
Kobe Bryant 30 Scoring Dirk Nowitzki 26
Ramon Sessions 9 Assists Rodrigue Beaubois 5
Matt Barnes 9 Rebounds Dirk Nowitzki 10
Kobe Bryant 7 Free Throws Made Dirk Nowitzki 4
Steve Blake 2 Steals Jason Kidd 4
Andrew Bynum 2 Blocks Yi Jianlian 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
L.A. Lakers 109 58.4 9-18 10-13 25 46 5 4 14
Dallas 93 42.7 8-26 15-22 15 29 2 13 7
Upcoming Games
  • Dallas will play their next game on the road against San Antonio. The Mavericks have a W/L % of .630 after a win and .476 after a loss.
  • L.A. Lakers will play their next game at home against Portland. The Lakers have a W/L % of .607 after a win and .632 after a loss.