|
Mavericks frustrate Kobe, win 12th straight
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-08 13:52
DALLAS - The Dallas Mavericks weren't going to let Kobe Bryant embarrass them
again.
Los Angeles Lakers'
Kobe Bryant (8) loses control of the ball as he drives to the basket past
Dallas Mavericks' Josh Howard (5) in the second half of NBA basketball
action in Dallas, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006.
[Reuters] | No scoring at will this time for
Bryant, or outscoring the Mavericks on his own.
"They made a concerted effort to run two, three, four guys at me," Bryant
said. "They trapped me all over the court."
Josh Howard had 22 points and was one of the defenders who helped frustrate
Bryant, and Dallas beat the Los Angeles Lakers 102-87 Tuesday night for its
NBA-best 12th straight victory.
The winning streak coincides with the Mavericks' club-record streak of
holding a dozen straight opponents under 100 points.
But this time, they showed they could defend Bryant, who was held to 24
points — well below his 52.5 average in his other two games against Dallas this
season.
"We wanted to keep the ball out of his hands as much as possible," Howard
said. "Through this whole winning streak, we've been playing great team defense.
The last two times we played the Lakers, we didn't play great defense and let
them take advantage of it. We got tired of it."
Before Bryant scored 81 points against Toronto two weeks ago, he had 62
against the Mavs on Dec. 20, and had outscored them on his own before not
playing the fourth quarter in a 22-point home victory. The NBA's top scorer put
up 43 in his other matchup against Dallas.
On Tuesday, he had his lowest output since 21 against Orlando on Dec. 23, the
game after his 62 against the Mavs when he made 18-of-31 shots.
Using Adrian Griffin, Jerry Stackhouse and Howard as the primary defenders,
and often using double teams, Dallas did everything they could to deny Bryant
the ball. And Bryant struggled when he did get shots, making only 5-of-22.
"My assignment was to make Kobe work for each shot," Griffin said. "The team
did a great job of having my back, and whoever guarded him played with a lot of
energy. ... Fortunately, he didn't get going like he usually can."
|
