Lakers vs. Mavericks Final Score: Dirk Nowitzki hits career milestone, Lakers lose 122-111

The Los Angeles Lakers paid forward Kobe Bryant’s storybook ending in a 122-111 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Dirk Nowitzki hit a huge career milestone, joining the 30,000 points club on his home floor in Dallas. What made it special, though, was how locked-in he was while splashing whatever he wanted over the Lakers.

Nowiztki scored a game-high 25 points, making nine of his 13 attempts and three-of-four from deep. He even pulled down 11 rebounds to add a little bonus to a very special night from one of the greatest to ever lace them up.

The Lakers’ defense was more than happy to oblige to Dirk Nowitzki night, letting Dallas completely dominate them. Seven Mavericks’ players reached double-digits in scoring. Dallas shot 55 percent overall from the field as a team, which perfectly sums up just how poorly the Lakers defended across the board.

Julius Randle did squeak in his third triple-double of the season, piling up 17 rebounds with 13 points and 10 assists. It may have been the emptiest triple-double in Lakers history, but the man can fill in the gaps with production if the rest of the game can come together.

Jordan Clarkson gave his best Lou Williams impersonation by serving as the firecracker off the bench in a mostly-dim night from LA. He tied D’Angelo Russell for a team-high 22 points. When you let Seth Curry and Yogi Ferrell 34 points, 12 assists and 6-of-10 three-point shooting, there’s some explaining to be done from the backcourt on the defensive end.

The Lakers are on an eight-game losing streak and next play the Suns in Phoenix on Thursday.