A winning streak that began 12 days ago came to an end Friday night at the Staples Center. The Mavericks gave the Lakers their best shot for the better part of three quarters, fell behind, then finished strong, only to watch the Lakers hold on for a 114-107 victory.

Good-bye five-game winning streak.

If there was any consolation in this loss, it's that the Mavericks didn't make it easy on LA. Kobe Bryant (35 points) was forced to stay on the court until the very end, something he rarely does these days as the Lakers normally blow away the opposition.

The difference: The Mavericks went 6:37 without a field goal from late in the third quarter until early in the fourth. A Lakers team that shot 64 percent from the field in the second half took advantage of that drought to go on a 21-2 run to erase what had been an 11-point deficit.

"It's going to be a tough challenge because right now, this is probably the best team going,'' Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said before the game.

He wasn't wrong.

But the Mavericks gave it a good shot.

Terry on hot streak: The Mavs carried a five-game winning streak into this brief, two-game road trip to California.

Carlisle was asked before the game what role Jason Terry has played in this turnaround.

"Well, look at the numbers,'' Carlisle said. "He's scored big in almost all of these games. There is a correlation between him playing well and us winning.''

There was a correlation Friday night. Terry scored 10 points in the first two quarters to help stake the Mavericks to a 57-51 lead over the Lakers. Terry entered the evening averaging 22.5 points off the bench in his previous six games. He scored 29 on Friday.

"He's been able to give us a real scoring punch off the bench,'' Carlisle said. "The great thing about him is he's willing to do whatever. By bringing him off the bench, we can keep his minutes reasonable and still have a real weapon.

"And it's great for the soul of our team to have a guy who is that unselfish with that stuff.''

Shock treatment for Stackhouse: Jerry Stackhouse did not accompany the team to California after receiving electric shock treatment on his injured right heel.

"It requires a short period of complete inactivity,'' Stackhouse said by text-message Friday night. "I hope to be moving again early in the week.''

Stackhouse has played in only eight games this season.

Briefly: Mavericks forward Josh Howard missed his fourth consecutive game because of a sprained ankle. He missed the team's earlier game against the Lakers with a sprained wrist. Howard's status for tonight's game against Sacramento is uncertain. ... Gerald Green and Antoine Wright found themselves together to open the game for the first time this season. It was the eighth different starting lineup used by Carlisle in the Mavericks' first 15 games. And Carlisle didn't stop there. He started J.J. Barea in the backcourt with Jason Kidd to start the second half as Green took a seat on the bench.