"Same old story," Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott lamented after Sunday's 100-93 defeat to the Dallas Mavericks. "They turned it up a notch on the defensive end. We turned it over a bunch of times. Every shot that we had was under duress. We didn't move the ball as well as we did earlier in the game."
From the start of the second half until 4:39 left in the game, the Lakers led the Mavericks. However, the Lakers' late collapse had as much to do with the home team as it did with the visitors. The Lakers took a six-point lead with 6:35 to play. From that point forward, the Lakers would be outscored 16-3 in an incredible collapse that had fans rushing for the exits.
Wearing all black and sitting on the Lakers' bench, Kobe Bryant came to Staples Center and took a seat on the Lakers' bench. By the time the game ended, his solemn expression matched the looks of fans as they streamed out to Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles.
"It's just good to see him out here and good to see him with his teammates," Scott said he asked Bryant to be at all remaining home games. "He's in their ear during timeout and things like that, so I think that's valuable."
Open up Snapchat, add 'LakersSnaps' and you'll see more behind-the-scenes action like this. pic.twitter.com/TDkhbELX8P — Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 9, 2015
One player Bryant specifically targeted was rookie Jordan Clarkson. The Lakers' social media accounts recorded Bryant providing the rookie pointers during a timeout, and Clarkson confirmed that Bryant's presence helped him on a technical level. Speaking of which, Clarkson also told NBCLA.com that he plans to meet with Steve Nash soon. The future Hall-of-Fame point guard has been periodically providing the Lakers' rookie with specialized one-on-one sessions.
Back to Sunday's loss, turnovers, largely, shouldered blame for the defeat. The Lakers committed eight turnovers in the deciding fourth quarter. For comparison's sake, LA had only committed eight turnovers through the first three periods.
Also, Monta Ellis scored 26 of his game-high 31 points in the second half. With Rajon Rondo delivering nine assists and Al-Farouq Aminu collecting six steals and three blocks, the Mavericks put together a balanced victory even if no one other than Ellis scored over 13 points for the visitors.
Starting a new lineup on Sunday, Scott brought rookie Tarik Black into the mix, and the 23-year-old finished with six points and five rebounds in 26 minutes. The other rookie, Clarkson, struggled at the finish but still managed 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. For the near future, the Lakers will look to develop both players with playing time.
With the new rotations, Ed Davis only featured for 19 minutes, but the productive forward still managed 10 points, eight rebounds, two assists and three block shots. Veteran Carlos Boozer finished as the team's top scorer with 17 points and eight rebounds, as he moved to the bench to make way for Black. Wesley Johnson replaced Ryan Kelly in the starting lineup, and Johnson continued his recent positive play with 15 points on 6/9 shooting.
Next, the Lakers face the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night. Tip-off at Staples Center is at 7:30 p.m.
