In Wednesday night's game against the Lakers, Nowitzki finished with 33 points and 14 rebounds, but the Mavericks wound up losing, 98-94. The Mavericks haven't beaten the Lakers in Los Angeles since Dec. 12, 1990. That's a span of 22 road games against the Lakers where the Mavericks have come up empty.

In all, the Lakers have defeated the Mavericks 39 of the past 42 games between these two teams. The victory helped the Lakers move to 11-0 at home this season while stretching their NBA-best record to 16-1.

When Michael Finley fouled out for just the sixth time in his career - with 6:35 left - the Mavericks were clinging to a 88-85 lead. But the Mavericks (12-7) couldn't hang on in the end, and finished this three-game road trip with a 2-1 record.