NBA Game Summary - Dallas at LA Lakers

Los Angeles, CA (Basketball News) - Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points and Dallas held off a late Los Angeles Lakers comeback attempt to earn its seventh consecutive victory, a 114-112 decision at the Staples Center.

Michael Finley added 20 points while Jason Terry amassed 17 points and 10 assists for the Mavericks, who have already sewn up the fourth seed for the upcoming Western Conference playoffs. Jerry Stackhouse contributed 15 points off the bench and finished 11-of-14 from the free throw line.

"Our defense was good until the fourth quarter," said Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson. We had some guys make big-time plays down the stretch."

Dallas held a commanding 85-70 lead after three quarters but was outscored 42-29 in the final session.

Kobe Bryant, who returned to the Laker lineup after a one-game absence, racked up 33 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Jumaine Jones had 14 points and nine boards for Los Angeles, which has dropped four straight and 17 of 19.

Bryant missed Friday’s loss to Sacramento to attend to his wife while she dealt with pregnancy complications.

The teams were tied at 40-40 midway through the second quarter before Dallas put together a 16-4 run to take control. Erick Dampier netted seven points during the spurt and Finley drained a pair of three-pointers, including a triple with 2:30 remaining before intermission which gave the Mavericks a comfortable 56-44 advantage.

Bryant then buried a three-pointer and converted a driving layup right before the first-half buzzer to bring Los Angeles within 56-49.

"We had a bad run in the second quarter and didn’t close out the quarter out right again," said Lakers head coach Frank Hamblen. "We haven’t been very good at that, especially of late."

Another trey by Bryant cut the Lakers’ deficit to just two points, 68-66, with 5:35 left in the third quarter. However, Nowitzki was fouled on a putback less than a minute later and hit the ensuing free throw, sparking a 15-2 run which enabled Dallas to pull away. Stackhouse capped the burst with back-to-back baskets as the Mavericks built a 83-68 advantage heading into the final minute of the period.

The Lakers closed the gap to 88-80 on Chucky Atkins’ three-pointer with under three minutes elapsed in the fourth quarter, but Keith Van Horn answered with a triple on the other end and Finley and Nowitzki followed with baskets to extend the lead to 15 with seven minutes to go.

Dallas was up 113-104 with 19 seconds left but nearly coughed up the lead. After Sasha Vucacic hit a three-pointer to cut it to six, the Mavs’ Darrell Armstrong missed two free throws and Devean George sank a trey to pull Los Angeles within 113-110 with three seconds on the clock.

Stackhouse made 1-of-2 from the line to make it a four-point game, but Nowitzki fouled Bryant from beyond the arc with one second to go. He promptly swished home the first two foul shots and purposely missed the third, but the Lakers failed to get a shot off before the final buzzer.

"I was proud of the way our guys came back," said Hamblen. "They didn’t quit."