With six of their next nine games on the road, starting Thursday at Chicago, the Mavericks needed a significant effort at home Tuesday night against the undefeated Lakers.
One game after forward Dirk Nowitzki challenged his team's effort, the Mavs went full bore, but it still wasn't enough to take down the streaking Lakers. Part of the problem was the absence of Josh Howard (left wrist) for a second consecutive game, which further disrupted an already rickety bench. The bigger issue is how the Mavs are finishing games. In three home games, they've been outscored 86-51 in the fourth quarter and 188-157 overall.
The Lakers won Tuesday's fourth quarter 30-20. The Mavs managed just 39 second-half points after scoring 35 in the opening quarter.
"It's execution," coach Rick Carlisle said. "I thought that (Tuesday) was a case where we exerted so much energy that we a little bit ran out of gas. But there are no excuses. This is a veteran team that's been there, that's won tons of games. And you've got to be able to close against no matter who you're playing."
LAKERS 106, MAVERICKS 99: Jason Kidd notched his first triple-double of the season (16 points, 10 assists, 11 rebounds) and the 101st of his career, and Erick Dampier had a double-double (11 points, 16 rebounds, 12 on the offensive glass), but it couldn't offset 22 Mavs turnovers and 49 combined points from Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Dirk Nowitzki had just two of his 14 points in the second half and he was held scoreless since early in the third quarter.
