Mavericks Trounce Lakers, 106-87

<br>DALLAS (AP) _ It took 13 years _ and a rash of injuries _ for the Mavericks to beat the Lakers twice in a season as Los Angeles lost to Dallas 106-87 on Thursday night. <br><br>The Mavericks' win

Friday, January 23rd 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

DALLAS (AP) _ It took 13 years _ and a rash of injuries _ for the Mavericks to beat the Lakers twice in a season as Los Angeles lost to Dallas 106-87 on Thursday night.

The Mavericks' win makes this the first season since 1990-91 that the Lakers haven't won the season series; they tied 2-2. Dallas also is 4-5 in the last nine meetings after going 3-41 in the previous 44.

Although the Lakers were without superstars Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone, the win was still sweet for the Mavericks, who won for only the 21st time in 103 meetings.

``The only thing that matters is they're still the Lakers, the history they represent and the championships,'' said Antawn Jamison, who tied his season high with 26 points in just 27 minutes.

Jamison scored seven during an 18-2 spurt in the third quarter that turned a suddenly tight game into a rout.

The Lakers had erased a 13-point halftime deficit in just four minutes to tie it at 65. Then, Dallas heated up again and Los Angeles went cold, scoring just four points over the last 8:01 of the period.

``I told them it was a good comeback, but it wasn't enough,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``After that, we had no answer at all.''

In other NBA games, it was: Sacramento 95, Cleveland 89; and Seattle 103, Golden State 87.

Michael Finley scored 31 points, helping Dallas extend its longest winning streak this season to six games. Antoine Walker had 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Dirk Nowitzki had 16 points and nine rebounds. Jamison, who shot 10-of-13, also had nine rebounds.

While the Lakers avoided topping a 26-point loss to the Mavericks last season in another Shaq-less game, they still dropped their third straight overall and fourth in five games. They've also lost nine straight on the road, their longest skid since losing 10 in a row in 1963-64.

``It was an opportunity to play the Lakers when they were beat up and injured, and we took advantage of it,'' Dallas coach Don Nelson said.

Devean George led Los Angeles with a season-high 24 points. Slava Medvedenko and Kareem Rush each scored 18.

Rookie Luke Walton, making his first start, had just two points in 23 minutes. He and the team's four healthy reserves each made only one field goal.

Make that three healthy reserves. Rookie Brian Cook broke his right pinkie and Jackson said, ``It doesn't look good for him.''

``I've never seen anything like it,'' veteran Bryon Russell said of the team's mounting injuries.

O'Neal's absence opened the inside for the Mavericks and they capitalized to score 50 points in the paint. They also outscored Los Angeles 29-4 on the fast break and held the Lakers to just six offensive rebounds, with half of those coming in the fourth quarter.

``I think we did an excellent job of moving the ball around,'' Jamison said. ``We just did a tremendous job of getting everybody involved. It makes it difficult to defend us.''

Kings 95, Cavaliers 89

At Cleveland, Peja Stojakovic scored 27 of his 37 points in the second half and Sacramento opened its longest road trip of the season with a win over the undermanned Cavaliers.

Stojakovic scored 20 in the third quarter and the Kings held off the Cavs, who were still missing injured LeBron James but nearly rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final minutes.

Brad Miller had a key putback off a missed free throw with 57.5 seconds left as the Kings (30-10) became the first Western Conference team to reach 30 wins.

Dajuan Wagner had 20 points for the Cavs.

SuperSonics 103, Warriors 87

At Seattle, Antonio Daniels scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter for the SuperSonics.

Brent Barry added 17 points for Seattle, which looked great after coming off a woeful 1-3 Eastern road trip.

Golden State shot just 35.9 percent. Mike Dunleavy led the Warriors with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Speedy Claxton also scored 18.