5 ejected as surging Lakers rout Mavs (AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP)—In case there was any doubt, the Los Angeles Lakers
showed they aren’t going to be knocked around during their quest for a third
straight NBA championship.

When push comes to shove, they can be physical with the best of them. Just
ask the Dallas Mavericks.

Kobe Bryant(notes) scored 28 points, Andrew Bynum(notes) had 18 points and 13 rebounds,
and the Lakers defeated the Mavericks 110-82 in a testy affair in which five
players were ejected Thursday night.

In what was a possible preview of a second-round playoff matchup, this one
had a postseason flair to it. Early in the fourth quarter, the Lakers’ Matt
Barnes(notes) and Steve Blake(notes) and the Mavericks’ Jason Terry(notes) and Brendan Haywood(notes) were
thrown out following a shoving match under the basket. Los Angeles’ Shannon
Brown(notes) was later ejected in a separate incident.

“This is a family here,” Barnes said. “So if someone comes and hits your
brother, pushes your brother, then you definitely have their back. And that’s
the case here.”

The late skirmish didn’t take away from the Lakers’ eighth straight win and
16th in 17 games since the All-Star break, helping them pull within 2 1/2 games of
slumping San Antonio for the NBA’s top overall record. Los Angeles (54-20) also
tied Chicago for the second-best mark in the league.

“We don’t want games to end like that, but you want to see players
competing and caring about the game at the level which brings that kind of
intensity,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “It’s just a buildup, a buildup
for what we can see down the road.”

Dirk Nowitzki(notes) had 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Mavericks, whose
five-game winning streak ended.

The Lakers’ recent run started with a 96-91 road win over Dallas on March
12. They entered Thursday’s matchup just a half-game ahead of the Mavericks for
the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

“I think it’s becoming a big rivalry,” Mavericks forward Shawn Marion(notes)
said. “It’s fun. That’s part of basketball.”

Things turned ugly with 9:23 remaining when Terry delivered a two-handed
shove to the back of Blake as he drove to the hoop. Blake and Terry went
toe-to-toe, exchanging words before Barnes intervened and pushed Terry.

Barnes was restrained by Mavericks assistant Terry Stotts in front of the
Dallas bench. He attempted to walk toward the Lakers’ bench and shook off
Stotts’ grasp, sending the coach flying into spectators sitting courtside.

“I definitely lost my cool,” Barnes said. “But I think (Jason Terry) may
have lost his cool a little bit for the fact we were really putting it on their
team.”

Play was stopped for several moments as referees went to the replay
monitors. Terry was hit with a flagrant-2 foul, sending seldom-used Lakers
center Theo Ratliff(notes) to the line for a pair of free throws, which were both
missed.

Barnes shed his jersey and tossed it into the stands when he exited the
court on the way to the locker room.

“It was a chippy game, but the playoffs start early,” Nowitzki said.
“That’s what the playoffs are all about. Emotions are going to run high and
things are going to happen.”

Despite the ejections, and possible looming suspensions, Bryant believes
that incidents such as this can do a team good.

“It brings us closer together, simple as that,” he said.

Pau Gasol(notes) had 20 points, and Lamar Odom(notes) finished with 18 points and 13
rebounds for the refreshed Lakers, who were playing their first game in four
days since routing New Orleans 102-84 on Sunday in winning their 10th in a row
at home.

Odom came alive late in the third quarter. The Lakers led 79-70 before Odom
accounted for all the points in an 11-0 run. He hit a 3-pointer to close the
third and added a pair of 3s and a layup to open the fourth for a 90-70 lead
with 10:25 to go.

The Lakers cruised from there, despite another confrontation that resulted
in Brown being sent off when he got tangled up with the Mavericks’ Brian
Cardinal(notes) with 1:52 to go.

“We just wanted to put our stamp on the game and let everybody know that
we’re here to win,” Bynum said of the Lakers’ refusal to back down.

The Mavericks, who own the best road record in the NBA, fell to 3-1 on their
season-high, six-game road trip. They weren’t able to complete the Los Angeles
sweep a night after beating the Clippers in the same building.

Nowitzki was the Mavericks’ lone starter in double figures, with Peja
Stojakovic(notes) scoring 13 points and J.J. Barea(notes) adding 10 off the bench as Dallas
shot 36.1 percent (30 of 83).

“It’s a good check. We have to grow up,” said Mavericks center Tyson
Chandler(notes), who grabbed 10 rebounds. “If we are going to get to where we want to
go, we are going to have nights like this, and we are going to have to step up
to the challenge.”

The Lakers’ streak of fine play has suddenly supplied hope in catching the
Spurs in the standings, something that seemed unlikely when they slumped into
the break with three straight losses.

“We’re on a roll right now, and we’re playing well,” Odom said. “We just
wanted to come out and play our A-game. And since the All-Star break, that’s
what we’ve been doing.”

Los Angeles and San Antonio each have eight games remaining in the regular
season. The two will meet in the second-to-last game of the regular season on
April 12.

Notes: The Mavericks are 13-2 against the Pacific Division this season, with
both losses coming against the Lakers. … Odom’s 16 points gave him 12,002 for
his career, making him the 23rd player in NBA history to have 12,000 points,
7,000 rebounds and 3,000 assists. Odom needed 821 games to achieve the feat, the
ninth fastest to do so. … Barea and Nowitzki also picked up technicals.