Defense Dumps Dallas

Lacking defensive intensity in their past handful of games, the Los Angeles Lakers turned it up a few notches against the Dallas Mavericks and cruised to a 131-96 blow-out at Staples Center. The Lakers raced out to a 30-13 first quarter lead and it only got uglier for the Mavs from there. Dallas, currently the number two team in the Western Conference, could not adapt to the harassing pressure that the Lakers applied. Rotations were quick, help was always present, and the vaulted Mavs pick-and-roll was rendered basically nonexistent. Lamar Odom (15 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists) picked up where he left off against Sacramento, out-quicking his Dallas defenders with ease. His on-ball defense against Dirk Nowitzki (22 points on 7-18 from the field, 8 rebounds) was superb in the early going, forcing the All-Star into numerous turnovers and poor shot selections.

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Jordan Farmar (24 points, 6-8 on three-pointers, 2 steals, 1 assist, 1 blocked shot) and Shannon Brown (11 points, 5 assists) jump-started the bench in the first half. And when Pau Gasol (6 points, 2 rebounds in 7 minutes) exited the game early, heading to the locker room with a strained left hamstring in the first quarter, Sasha Vujacic (11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) and his bench mates more than made up for his absence. Pau’s hamstring will be reevaluated tomorrow as he is scheduled to undergo an ultrasound to determine the extent of the injury. The bench got extended minutes with the absence of Gasol and Ron Artest’s fifth missed game due to a concussion suffered on Christmas night. Andrew Bynum (19 points on 8-8 shooting, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) flourished against the smaller Mavericks as Drew Gordon (6 points on 2-5, 7 rebounds, 2 assists) and Shawn Marion (6 points on 2-6, 3 rebounds) tried their hand at slowing down the Lakers center.

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Kobe Bryant (15 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds) found open teammates often and with the Lakers nailing a barrage (14-24 for 58.3%) of three-pointers, it was 103-63 at the end of the third period. Rick Carlise pulled the plug quickly thereafter and the Lakers proceeded to coast the rest of the way to their 27th victory of the season. DJ Mbenga (6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 blocked shots) and Josh Powell (8 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists) added to the onslaught by the resurgent Lakers Bench Mob, outscoring their Dallas counterparts, 41-19 through three quarters.

Garbage time arrived early and the Mavs reserves easily outplayed their starters. But with Farmar tying his career high in points, and the Lakers defense continuing to punish the Mavs, the huge lead remained intact. The lopsided score was 113-73 with 8:35 left in the game. Adam Morrison (6 points, 2 assists) even found the range, draining a trio of long distance jump shots. In the end, it was a march to the free tacos line as the Lakers managed to hold their opponent below 100 points for the first time in the past six games. The Lakers face the Houston Rockets on Tuesday followed with a back-to-back as the visitors against the Clippers on Wednesday.