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Fisher's late 3-pointer lifts Lakers over Mavs

Jan 17, 2012 - 7:08 AM Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Derek Fisher knocked down a three-pointer with 3.1 seconds remaining, lifting the Los Angeles Lakers to a 73-70 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night.

Fisher's go-ahead shot, from the right side over Dirk Nowitzki, was the only three-pointer the Lakers made in the game.

Kobe Bryant, who was 7-for-22 from the floor to snap his streak of 40-point games, gave up the chance to take the shot and passed to Fisher instead from the point.

"Kobe demands a lot of attention and he trusted me to make the right play," said Fisher. "I'm confident in my ability to make the right play. I have a responsibility to my team."

Vince Carter's three-point try at the buzzer for Dallas clanked off the back of the rim, and he limped off the court after grabbing his left foot.

Which is about how ugly much of the game was for both teams in their first meeting since Dallas swept the Lakers in last year's Western Conference semifinals.

The Lakers extended their home win streak to nine games since a season-opening loss to Chicago despite shooting just 38.2 percent from the floor, including 1-of-10 from three-point range.

Dallas was even worse. Nowitzki was 8-of-17 for 21 points, but the Mavs shot 35 percent and made only four of their 26 three-point attempts to have a five- game winning streak snapped. Jason Terry made a game-tying shot in the last 10 seconds for the Mavs.

"We didn't get to Derek in time. That's tough," said Mavs coach Rick Carlisle. "We had a lot of opportunities we didn't cash in. (But) we battled our butts off and I like that."

Andrew Bynum scored 17 points with 15 rebounds to lead the Lakers, who bounced back from a loss to the Clippers to win for the sixth time in seven games.

Bryant had a season-low 14 points after dropping at least 40 in the previous four games. Fisher saved the day, scoring nine of LA's final 13 points.

"We don't care if the score if 4-2," Fisher said of the down shooting night, "as long as we win the game."

Monday was also former Laker Lamar Odom's first trip back to play in Los Angeles since being traded to the defending champions in the offseason. He scored 10 off the bench for the Mavericks.

Fisher's clutch three made LA's 3-for-19 performance in the third quarter moot. The Lakers had just seven points in the quarter -- Dallas was only 6- for-19 for 16 points -- and trailed 51-46 heading into the fourth.

The Dallas lead reached six points on Jason Terry's shot early in the final quarter. But the Lakers used a 17-4 run to take a 66-59 lead on Fisher's bucket inside five minutes.

Later, Jason Kidd missed 1-of-2 free throws with a chance to get the Mavs within a point, touching off a series of squandered chances by both teams. Pau Gasol missed on a spin move at the other end and Nowitzki was called for traveling before Bryant's bounced a tough jumper off the rim from the left side.

At the other end, Terry was freed up by a pick and dropped in a running floater from the foul line over Bynum with 9.9 seconds left, tying the game at 70-70 and touching off the final moments.

"We held Dallas to 35 percent shooting and 70 points. That's good," said Lakers coach Mike Brown. "Offensively it was ugly. We're still trying to find our way offensively. It's nice when we don't score many points and still win games."

Earlier, the Mavs had an 18-15 lead after the first quarter but trailed 39-35 at halftime.

Game Notes

The Lakers are headed to Florida for games against the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic on Thursday and Friday... The Mavericks started a four-game road trip that continues in Los Angeles on Wednesday against the Clippers. They will also play at Utah and New Orleans...Kidd had two steals for Dallas to reach 2,500 for his career.