Mavs Beat Lakers in Game 1

by terah on 03. May, 2011 in Featured

Los Angeles, California, USA (NEWSTABULOUS) – The Dallas Mavericks upset the Los Angeles Lakers tonight in Game 1 of the semifinals.

Lead scorer for the Mavs, Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 points and hit two go-ahead free throws with 19.5 seconds left before Gasol and Bryant made a crucial turnover, and the Mavericks rallied for a 96-94 victory in Game 1 on Monday night.

Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said:

“You’ve got to make plays, and you’ve got to dodge some bullets. We did both.”

Kobe Bryant failed on two chances to turn the game around in the final seconds. Bryant and Pau Gasol flopped away the Lakers’ first opportunity before Bryant missed his last shot, allowing Nowitzki and his hungry Mavs to take an early second-round series lead.

Bryant put up 21 of his 36 points in the second half for the Lakers, but he fell under defensive pressure from Jason Kidd while trying to steal the ball from Gasol with 5 seconds to play. After one free throw by Kidd, Bryant missed a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer off the back rim just before the buzzer.

Gasol had 15 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for the second-seeded Lakers in tonight’s loss. This is the second straight series opener loss for the Lakers. Their loss to New Orleans two weeks ago was much more surprising than this loss to the Mavs.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said:

“We felt like we gave the game away. I’m not so sure Dallas didn’t outplay us, but the players felt like we gave it away. … The game was won in the third quarter when we got the lead and stopped playing defense and stopped playing offense. It took a lot of energy out of us and gave a lot of energy to them.”

Nowitzki scored in the lane with 40 seconds left to trim the deficit to 94-93, and after Jason Terry swiped the ball from Bryant, Gasol fouled Nowitzki on the Mavericks’ inbounds play.

The Mavericks trailed 92-87 with 3:32 left to go, but finished on a 9-2 run showing all the late-game grit that’s expected of Bryant and the two-time defending champions.

Shawn Marion said: