Dirk Nowitzki

Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks gave the reigning NBA champion Dallas Mavericks all they could handle and more Sunday in a nationally televised game. Lin, the young point guard from Palo Alto via Harvard, had another stellar game with 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting and a career-high 14 assists in a 104-97 victory over Dallas at a raucous Madison Square Garden. It wasn't just the 6-foot-3 Lin helping New York improve its record to 16-16 in the absence of injured All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony.

The shots weren't falling for Kobe Bryant. Not the three-pointers, the turnaround fadeaways or even the short pull-up jumpers. The Lakers star had missed 18 of his first 20 shots last month in a game against New Orleans that threatened to turn into a horrid loss against the team with the worst record in the Western Conference. With the Lakers trailing by two points and fewer than 30 seconds to play, the Lakers needed a basket. There was no doubt to whom they would look to make it. Bryant rose up from beyond the three-point arc and buried a jumper, surprising none of his teammates.

at Dallas 98, Charlotte 97 (OT): Dirk Nowitzki made a 10-foot jumper with 1.8 seconds left in overtime, and the Mavericks continued their dominance over Charlotte. Nowitzki scored 36 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter and overtime, to help the Mavericks improve to 11-0 all-time against the Bobcats. at Denver 105, Phoenix 99: Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points, and Chauncey Billups shook off an awful first half to lead the Nuggets back from a 17-point deficit against the Suns.

Some things to watch when the Lakers host the Dallas Mavericks Sunday (12:30 p.m.) at Staples Center. 1. The Lakers will play with plenty of motivation. For all of the maddening inconsistency the Lakers have shown this season, there's still one thing that's stayed the same: The Lakers have played with effort against teams they don't like, including the Boston Celtics, Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks. Part of the Lakers' three-game regular-season sweep thus far against Dallas reflects the purple and gold's superior personnel.

at Dallas 115, Chicago 114 (OT): Dirk Nowitzki scored 44 points, 14 in overtime, and the Mavericks overcame a hand injury to second-leading scorer Jason Terry to win for the fifth time in six games. Terry, averaging 20.2 points a game, will be out for an extended stretch after sustaining a broken bone in his left hand during the first half. He told team officials he was not sure when the injury occurred.

Forget reality shows. This was the Lakers' version of "Star Search" on Wednesday night at Staples Center … to be continued later this week in Dallas. Search, indeed. As in the ongoing search to find someone, anyone, with the ability to guard Mavericks forward and 10-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki . Or perhaps, if you are after modest goals, simply slowing down Nowitzki. Nowitzki has combined for 52 points in two Western Conference semifinal games against the Lakers and it's no coincidence the Mavericks won both.

Tim Thomas took Dirk Nowitzki's spot in the starting lineup and scored 22 points, helping the Dallas Mavericks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 102-95, Sunday night to spoil LeBron James' 500th career game. The Cavaliers, who had won five straight, pulled to within 84-83 midway through the fourth quarter, but Dallas answered with a 12-4 spurt. Nowitzki didn't play two days after a collision with Houston's Carl Landry, who lost five teeth, two of which were embedded in Nowitzki's right elbow, necessitating several stitches.

Dirk Nowitzki blocked a shot and then scored with 37 seconds remaining to help the Dallas Mavericks beat the Clippers, 107-102, on Tuesday night. Dallas got started with its highest-scoring quarter of the season and had an 18-point lead before halftime against the Clippers, who had only eight players in uniform because of numerous lingering injuries. The Clippers' NBA-worst losing streak is now at eight games.

at Dallas 108, Sacramento 100: Dirk Nowitzki had 31 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas, which extended its season-high winning streak to 10 games. at Toronto 102, New York 96: Sonny Weems scored a career-high 20 points, and the Raptors ended a losing streak at four games. Boston 96, at Philadelphia 86: Rajon Rondo had 16 points and 11 assists, Kevin Garnett scored 22 points and the Celtics handed the 76ers their fifth straight loss. Milwaukee 102, at Washington 74: Andrew Bogut had 19 points and 10 rebounds despite sitting out the fourth quarter for the Bucks, who have won eight of nine.

From Dallas Forget Dwyane Wade for NBA Finals MVP. Dirk Nowitzki? Silver medalist, baby. Hand the award to the public-address announcer who begged the Dallas Mavericks for help a few minutes into the fourth quarter of Game 4. "I just checked the game clock," he intoned loudly into a courtside microphone. "It is officially time for some Big D. " (Exclamation points omitted to prevent annoying all readers.) It was cheeky, it was scripted and who knows if any players actually heard it, but it made so much sense at the time.

-- The Times' Mike Bresnahan profiles Ramon Sessions on how he has fit in with the Lakers thus far. Bresnahan also reports Sessions is expected to decline a player option for $4.6 million next season and become an unrestricted free agent, but he wants to stay with the Lakers. -- The Times' Ben Bolch mentions Mike Brown's return to practice Saturday and that Kobe Bryant probably won't play against the Dallas Mavericks. -- The Orange County Register's Janis Carr mentions Bryant's role in helping the coaches while he sits out. - -ESPN Los Angeles' Andy Kamenetzky previews the Lakers-Mavericks matchup.

Only a few stragglers remained in the Dallas Mavericks' locker room when Dirk Nowitzki took a seat in front of his locker. Wearing a T-shirt and a towel wrapped around his waist, the power forward pulled on a pair of compression leggings before uttering three words that couldn't have been more unexpected. "I love L.A," Nowitzki said wearily. It was a sarcastic reference to the Randy Newman song played before every Lakers home game, an anthem the Mavericks would probably like to avoid hearing again until next season.

Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks gave the reigning NBA champion Dallas Mavericks all they could handle and more Sunday in a nationally televised game. Lin, the young point guard from Palo Alto via Harvard, had another stellar game with 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting and a career-high 14 assists in a 104-97 victory over Dallas at a raucous Madison Square Garden. It wasn't just the 6-foot-3 Lin helping New York improve its record to 16-16 in the absence of injured All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony.

Reporting from Dallas -- It was the end of a six-game trip, and the Clippers were facing defending NBA champion Dallas in a city where they haven't won since April 19, 2006. And yet after 11 days on the road, after going from Washington to Orlando to Cleveland to Philadelphia to Charlotte and finally to Dallas, after losing Chauncey Billups to a season-ending torn Achilles' tendon in Orlando, the Clippers put themselves in position to win. They didn't, dropping a 96-92 decision to the Mavericks, but only after Caron Butler missed a potential game-winning three-point shot in the final seconds Monday night at American Airlines Center.

The art of free-throw shooting Last season, NBA players made 76% of their free throws. Listed below are some of the best and worst free-throw shooters among active players. Player; team; NBA seasons; career FT%* Best: Steve Nash; Suns; 16 t h ; 90.3% Chauncey Billups; Clippers; 15 t h ; 89.4% Ray Allen; Celtics; 16 t h ; 89.3% Kevin Durant; Thunder; 5 t h ; 87.8% Dirk Nowitzki; Mavericks; 14 t h ; 87.7% Worst: Ben Wallace; Pistons; 16 t h ; 41.5% DeAndre Jordan; Clippers; 4 t h ; 42.1% Louis Amundson; Pacers; 6 t h ; 46.5% DeSagana Diop; Bobcats; 11 t h ; 47.1% Andris Biedrins; Warriors; 8 t h ; 50.9% *through Feb. 2 Source: Basketball-Reference.com

The third of the Clippers' back-to-back-to-back games came Wednesday night against the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks, a night after L.A. was embarrassed in Utah. The Clippers were challenged by their coach to put forth a more energized effort than they displayed against the Jazz on Tuesday night. After a series of late-game mishaps by Chauncey Billups, the veteran guard delivered for the Clippers with a game-winning three-pointer that lifted his team to a 91-89 victory over Dallas.

Reporting from Dallas -- First things first. This isn't a return to the Mav-wrecks era, when bad things happened to an ineffective Dallas franchise, most notably zero championships in 30 years of existence until last June. It's not like Big D now stands for Doubtful. Or Disastrous. Or Defenseless, though a peek at some box scores a few weeks ago might provide evidence of that. It's more about defending a championship that came out of nowhere seven months ago, arriving almost too quickly to be true, with the snap of fingers by the alleged basketball lords.

Kevin Durant scored 30 points and hit a three-point shot at the buzzer to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 104-102 victory against the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night in a rematch of last season's Western Conference finals. The Thunder let Dallas wipe away a five-point deficit in the final 46 seconds to go ahead on Vince Carter's three-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining. That was just enough time for Oklahoma City to get the ball to Durant, who drilled a three from the right wing that improved his team to 4-0. Dirk Nowitzki had 29 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Mavericks, whose NBA title defense is off to an 0-3 start.