After 1: Lakers 25, Mavs 21

February, 22, 2012
Feb 22
9:09
PM CT
DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks are going to have to find a way to slow down Pau Gasol and get Dirk Nowitzki heated up. That little battle between the two 7-footers stands 12-0 in favor of the Spaniard.

The German is 0-of-3 from the field. Gasol took it to Nowitzki five-plus minutes with a sweet array of low-post moves and mid-range jumpers.

Vince Carter's the guy keeping Dallas in this one early with 11 points.

Gasol and L.A. jumped out to a 12-3 lead and Dallas came back with an 11-4 run.

The difference in this game is going to have to be Dallas' depth, which is actually deeper than the Lakers' even without Lamar Odom and Delonte West. Odom is not here tonight in order to handle a family matter (Khloe isn't here either). Kobe, with two points and three assists, played the entire quarter, and Gasol played all but 11 seconds.

The Mavs are shooting just 36.0 percent to L.A.'s 45.8 percent, but nine second-chance points have them hanging close.
Jeff Caplan joined ESPNDallas.com in December 2009. Jeff covers the Mavericks, Rangers and colleges. He has a wealth of experience in the area, covering multiple beats in his 11-plus years with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

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TEAM LEADERS

POINTS
Dirk Nowitzki
PTS AST STL MIN
21.6 2.2 0.7 33.5
OTHER LEADERS
ReboundsS. Marion 7.4
AssistsJ. Kidd 5.5
StealsJ. Kidd 1.7
BlocksB. Wright 1.3

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