Notebook: Lakers 96, Mavericks 91

Posted Thursday February 23, 2012 1:19AM

By Dave Ivey, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Pau Gasol scored 24 points and Andrew Bynum added 19 points and 14 rebounds on Wednesday, offsetting an off night by Kobe Bryant and off-target free-throw shooting by the Lakers in the final minute of a 96-91 victory against the Mavericks in Dallas. Dirk Nowitzki had 25 points and 12 boards and Vince Carter scored 20 for the Mavs in a hard-fought, back-and-forth battle that featured 11 ties and eight lead changes in the second half.

QUOTABLE: "The ball was moved very well. I thought we got the ball from one side of the floor to the other, made their defense move a little bit, and made some plays at the right time."
-- Lakers head coach Mike Brown.

THE STAT: The Lakers improved to 6-11 on the road, with all six of those victories coming by five or fewer points.

TURNING POINT: Derek Fisher (15 points) buried a 3-pointer and a short jumper on back-to-back possessions, capping a 9-0 run that gave L.A. the lead for good at 89-82 with 3:43 to play.

QUOTABLE II: "I'm disappointed tonight, but I'm not dismayed. I thought our effort was there, we just didn't make enough plays at both ends. Sometimes that happens, but the break's coming at a good time. I told the guys to enjoy the break and come back ready because we've got a very busy schedule coming back."
-- Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle on reaching the All-Star break at 21-13.

HOT: Carter scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half. Nowitzki (10) and Jason Terry (nine) accounted for all of the Mavericks' points during the fourth quarter.

NOT: The Mavericks were 1-for-11 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter and 8-for-32 overall.

GOOD MOVE: Shawn Marion played exceptional defense against Bryant, who scored 15 points -- 14 below his league-leading average -- and was just 4-for-15 from the field with seven turnovers. Bryant's first three field goals were against other defenders, with his only bucket against Marion not coming until midway through the fourth quarter.

BAD MOVE: The Mavericks missed four straight free throws in the fourth quarter, only to be outdone by the Lakers. Matt Barnes bricked two with 49.1 seconds left, Bryant missed two more with 37.4 seconds left and Gasol got in on the act with two more misses with 20 ticks remaining and L.A. clinging to a 93-91 lead. Fortunately for Los Angeles, Barnes grabbed the offensive rebound after Gasol's second misfire and made both shots after he was fouled by Jason Kidd.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Marion filled the stat sheet with nine rebounds, eight points, five assists and three steals and Haywood had 11 rebounds. Barnes had nine points and nine boards off the bench.

ROOKIE WATCH: Lakers guard Andrew Goudelock sank both of his 3-point attempts in the second quarter and finished with six points and three fouls in 10:03.

NOTABLE: Dallas forward Lamar Odom did not play against his former teammates. He was excused from the team for a family matter and will rejoin the Mavericks on Monday. ... This was the first meeting in Dallas since the Mavericks completed a sweep in last year's Western Conference semifinals. ... The Lakers have won four straight regular-season meetings. ... Dallas is 1-7 when trailing after the first quarter (0-4 at home). ... The Mavs scored 25 points off 17 turnovers and scored a season-high 21 second-chance points.

UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Tuesday vs. New Jersey, Wednesday @ Memphis, March 2 @ New Orleans. For the Lakers, Thursday @ Oklahoma City, Wednesday vs. Minnesota, March 2 vs. Sacramento.