Kobe Bryant, Dallas Mavericks | featured news

Kobe Bryant had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in his 19th career triple-double, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks 101-81 on Tuesday night.

Dwight Howard missed a two-handed dunk on his first shot, and the night never got much better for the Los Angeles Lakers. When Howard and Steve Nash took their places alongside Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol under the Hollywood spotlight, the Lakers opened a season of enormous expectations with an equally big dud of a performance. Darren Collison scored 17 points, Brandan Wright added 14, and the Dallas Mavericks spoiled the Lakers debuts of Howard and Steve Nash with a 99-91 victory over Los Angeles on Tuesday night.

James Harden, Eric Maynor, Nick Collison and Daequan Cook did something Kobe Bryant and the Lakers couldn't do — make big plays down the stretch to hold off Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 points and hit two go-ahead free throws with 19.5 seconds left before Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant made a crucial turnover, and the Dallas Mavericks rallied for a 96-94 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.