Nowitzki’s late jumper propels Mavericks past Lakers, 92-90

The Lakers don’t have to strain too hard to imagine a day without Kobe Bryant.

He knew the pat on his back came from Kobe Bryant. “With that being said, I put my earphones back on”, he told Brown and Scoop, “and once I put my earphones back on, the most awesome thing happened. I’m not really a big trash-talker, but once I’m talked to, I’ll have some fun”.

Notes: Jordan Clarkson tied his season-high with seven assists to go along with 18 points, which led the Lakers, and six rebounds.

“It was just two old guys having fun”, Bryant said after that contest. “He’s one of the best to ever lace ’em up, and it’s been a pleasure and an honor to compete against him basically nearly my entire career”. Health issues limited him to 41 games over the last two seasons, and an Achilles strain cut into his time on the court earlier this year. Randle would eventually finish with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Parsons ended the game with 17 points and nine rebounds. Nowitzki drained a baseline jumper over the top of Randle to give the Dallas Mavericks the lead and final basket of the night. LA Lakers head coach Byron Scott is still opting with Lou Williams in the starting five lineup and there are no hints of him changing the rotation any time soon.

The favorite is 7-2 against the spread in the last 10 meetings between these two teams while the Mavs are 7-2 ATS in their last nine games versus the Lakers.

Bryant had harsh words of motivation for his young teammates after their most recent loss in Portland, but decided he shouldn’t play through the re-occurring pain in his shoulder. I felt good when he scored the 81 because I felt like we’ve moved on from the 62 and he didn’t even play in the fourth quarter, but it was just one of those games he was extremely hot. The 2011 second-round pick is averaging 29.0 points in his last three games, while hitting 60.8 percent of his shots (31-of-51), including 12-of-18 from beyond the arc.

Despite the team having the worst record in the Western Conference and the second-worst record in the National Basketball Association this season, rookie forward Larry Nance Jr. said change had started at practice after the “very heartfelt, passionate speech”.

In the third period, the Lakers and Mavericks put together an entertaining contest that saw the Lakers go up by six points within the first three minutes of the second half.