Mavs Beat Lakers

By Forrest Lee, The Sports Xchange

LOS ANGELES — After a 31-point performance in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, Dallas Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes didn’t blink when asked his thoughts on facing his former club, the Golden State Warriors, for the first time Wednesday. 
“It’s another game,” Barnes said with a straight face. 
Just another game? 
“We’re 2-5, trying to be 3-5 and go back home,” Barnes said. 
Barnes made himself at home at Staples Center, connecting on 11 of 18 shots from the floor as the Mavericks defeated the Lakers 109-97. 
Seth Curry came off the bench to score a career-high 23 points for the Mavericks, who beat the Lakers for the 11th consecutive time. Dallas topped the Lakers in Los Angeles for the sixth time in a row. 
Mavericks guard J.J. Barea added 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. 
Unlike Barnes, Curry didn’t hide his excitement of clashing with his brother Stephen and the Warriors. 
“It’s going to fun going against one of the best players in the league and one of the best teams in the league,” Curry said. “It’s going to be a competitive night for us. 
“It’s always fun to go back to the Bay and play in front of those fans, too. It’s a little weird matching up against him sometimes, but it’s all fun, and it’s a dream come true, honestly, to be on the same court at the same time. So, I’ll be looking forward to it.” 
The Lakers (4-4) were looking forward to facing the Mavericks and attempting to win a fourth in a row for the first time since the 2012-13 season. Instead, they allowed the Mavericks to go on a fourth-quarter run, one the Lakers had no answer for as their winning streak ended. 
“I thought we were a little soft in the first half. When you let good players get into a rhythm, it can be tough to shut them down,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said. “That was the case tonight. They scored 20 points off our (17) turnovers. We had chances, and we didn’t get it done tonight.” 
Reserve guard Jordan Clarkson led the Lakers with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Nick Young, who scored Los Angeles’ initial 13 points, had 18 of his 20 points in the first half. Young didn’t score in the second half until there was about a minute left in the contest. 
Lou Williams and Julius Randle finished with 15 points apiece for the Lakers. Randle also collected 10 rebounds. D’Angelo Russell chipped 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds for Los Angeles. 
After trailing 91-89, the Mavericks used a 12-0 run for a 101-91 lead after a bucket by Curry with 4:01 remaining in the contest. The Lakers got no closer than eight the rest of the way. 
“We just didn’t get stops,” Clarkson said. 
Dallas led 71-60 after a dunk by Dwight Powell, who contributed 10 points and five steals, at 6:35 of the third quarter. A 10-2 Los Angeles run sliced the gap to 73-70 at 4:20 of the period after Russell’s 3-pointer. However, the Mavericks went up 83-77 heading into the final period. 
The Lakers broke a 35-35 tie with a 14-4 spurt after a 3-pointer by Williams for a 49-39 advantage with 5:11 left in the second quarter. However, the Mavericks closed the half with a 19-5 surge for a 58-54 edge at the break. 
Barnes and Curry scored 13 points in the first half for the Mavericks. 
Both clubs shot 53.8 percent from the floor before intermission. For the game, the Mavericks outshot the Lakers 52.4 percent to 48.7 percent. 
Dallas played its second consecutive game without Dirk Nowitzki (sore Achilles) and Deron Williams (sore left calf).

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