Mavs Stun Lakers

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The Dallas Mavericks stunned the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night at the Staples center with a 99-91 win to open the NBA season.  It is the first Dallas victory over L.A. in 7 games.

Playing without superstar Dirk Nowitzki, who is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, the Mavericks had 6 players in double figures.  Darren Collision led the Mavs with 17 points and 3 steals.  Elton Brand grabbed 11 rebounds, and Rodrigue Beaubois led the team with 5 assists.

Paul Gasol led the Lakers with 23 points, followed by Kobe Bryant with 22.  Steve Nash scored just 7 points in his Lakers debut.

Brandon Wright scored 14 for Dallas, including 5 of 5 from the line.  O.J. Mayo, Shawn Marion, Vince Carter, and Beaubois were the other Mavericks in double figures.  Jae Crowder scored 8 points for the Mavericks in his NBA debut.

“It’s a great win,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “If you execute in this league and have talent, you have a chance to win, and we did that. The Lakers are going to be fine. They’ve got a lot of new guys and a new system, but we were opportunistic tonight and got the job done.”

The Mavericks will play in Utah tonight before returning to Dallas for the home opener versus the Bobcats on Saturday.