Lakers’ late rally falls short in 102-98 loss to the Mavericks

The Lakers competed well against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night but ultimately fell short to the NBA’s highest-scoring team, 102-98.

A late run got the Lakers to within three points of the Mavericks in the final seconds, but Monta Ellis split a pair of free throws with 3.5 seconds on the clock. Nick Young’s final three-point attempt didn’t fall and the Lakers lost their second consecutive game.

Young, like most of his teammates, struggled to make shots for most of the game before catching fire in the final quarter. The Lakers shot only 36.4% from the field but dominated the Mavericks on the offensive glass, 24-6.

The Lakers’ 63 misses from the field had something to do with the discrepancy; Dallas shot 50.6% from the field, missing just 41 shots. The Lakers also had 16 turnovers to the Mavericks’ 13.

Mavericks point guard Rajon Rondo led all scorers with 21 points and finished with eight rebounds and seven assists. The Mavericks had six players in double figures, including Charlie Villanueva with 13 off the bench, helping Dallas keep pace when Young started hitting shots.

Reserve forward Carlos Boozer scored 18 to pace the Lakers. Young added 15 off the bench.

Jordan Hill (12 points and 10 rebounds), Ed Davis (10 points and 11 rebounds) and Wesley Johnson (11 points and 10 rebounds) all notched double-doubles. Johnson shot only three for 14 from the field. Davis miss five of six from the field but converted eight of 10 from the free-throw line.

Kobe Bryant sat out his third consecutive game to rest, dealing with the aches and pains of playing at the age of 36.

The Lakers (9-21) return home to host the Phoenix Suns (16-14) on Sunday night at Staples Center. The Mavericks (21-10) will host the Oklahoma City Thunder (15-16), also on Sunday.

Mavericks 72, Lakers 62 (end of third quarter)

The Lakers have dominated the offensive glass tonight in Dallas, primarily because they were struggling to get the ball to drop through the rim.

Down 10 points after three quarters, the Lakers had 21 offensive boards to just five for the Mavericks, while shooting 32.4% to Dallas’ 54.1%.

Lakers forward Carlos Boozer and Mavericks point guard Rajon Rondo still pace their teams with 16 points apiece. The Mavericks have three other scorers in double figures: Chandler Parsons (12), Tyson Chandler (11) and Dirk Nowitzki (10).

Ed Davis has eight points and 10 rebounds, although he’s missed four of five shots from the floor. Also struggling are Wesley Johnson, who has missed 11 of 12 shots, and Nick Young, who has made only one of eight shots.

Mavericks 48, Lakers 42 (halftime)The Lakers recovered in the second quarter, wiping out a seven-point deficit to tie the score at 30-all.

The Mavericks settled down and extended their lead right back to nine. By the end of the first half Friday night in Dallas, the Lakers had trimmed the deficit once again to six points.

Lakers forward Carlos Boozer and Rajon Rondo, the Mavericks’ newly acquired point guard, were the game’s leading scorers with 10 apiece.

The Mavericks made 56.8% of their shots from the field while the Lakers converted only 33.3%. Dallas turned ball over 11 times compared to the Lakers’ nine miscues.

Wayne Ellington scored seven for the Lakers. Nick Young struggled, missing five of six shots, and had only three.

The Lakers had an 11-2 advantage on the offensive glass. Ed Davis scored six points, all on free throws (six of eight).

Mavericks 26, Lakers 19 (end of first quarter)

The Lakers started slowly against the Mavericks on Friday night, very slowly.

Dallas scored 10 unanswered points to open the game, led by nine from center Tyson Chandler.

Jordan Hill was the first Laker to score, more than three minutes into the game. His team would eventually cut the deficit to four, but a wild Richard Jefferson three-pointer gave the Mavericks a seven-point lead heading into the second quarter.

Wayne Ellington, starting for Kobe Bryant (rest), led the Lakers with five points. The team shot only 29.2% from the field and had five turnovers.

The Mavericks shot 57.9%, also with five turnovers.

Pregame

After a Christmas Day loss to the Chicago Bulls (20-9), the Lakers (9-20) quickly return to the court on Friday, visiting the Dallas Mavericks (20-10).

The Mavericks have lost two in a row as they work in new point guard Rajon Rondo.

Kobe Bryant is questionable (rest) for the Lakers, who will be without Xavier Henry (Achilles), Ryan Kelly (hamstring), Steve Nash (back) and Julius Randle (leg).

For an in-depth breakdown, check out Preview: Lakers at Dallas Mavericks.

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.