Lakers Down Mavs in Critical Playoff Race Matchup

Both teams put it all on the line this game, playing like there's no tomorrow, but it was the Lakers who gained the upper hand. Kobe Bryant, fueled by Mark Cuban's amnesty comments, gave him some crow to eat this game as he lead the Lakers with 38 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists to help the Lakers overcome Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs 103-99 to hold on to the 9th spot and keep their bid for a playoff spot alive. Steve Nash had his best game as a Laker scoring wise, as he finished with 20 points and made big buckets when it counted besides Kobe and he was coming off from a bad shooting night against Portland too. The bench stepped up as well with the usual rotation of Antawn Jamison, Jodie Meeks, and Steve Blake as Jamison lead the bench with 13 points and Meeks scored 11. It's going to be a tough matchup in Denver as the Lakers head towards a back to back collision with the Nuggets, who have been red hot at home all season long.

Final Score: @ Dallas 103-99 [W]
Full recap: http://www.nba.com/games/20130224/LALDAL/gameinfo.html

Highlights

Next Game: @ Denver (02/25/13)