Kobe Bryant had another classic game on Thursday night, scoring 36 points in a 100-95 victory at Dallas.

The Lakers, in a tight race with Denver and Minnesota for the West's eighth and final playoff seed, play 15 of their final 23 away from home, starting with this one. This was also the first of six straight road games for the Lakers.

``Obviously we have a long haul ahead,'' Bryant said. ``We have to take this and move on. ... This is the way we wanted to start this road trip.''

Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 25 points but shot just 6-of-19, also missed a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left that would have tied it at 98.

``He made some big shots when they doubled Kobe,'' coach Frank Hamblen said. ``I told him at the shootaround today that we're going to give him more minutes.''