LOS ANGELES — Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 points and made two go-ahead free throws with 19.5 seconds left before Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant made a crucial turnover, and the Mavericks rallied for a 96-94 victory over the Lakers on Monday night in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.
Nowitzki had 14 rebounds for the Mavericks, who rallied from a 16-point deficit in the second half of the perennial playoff teams’ first postseason meeting in 23 years.
Bryant scored 21 of his 36 points in the second half for the Lakers, but he fell down while trying to get the ball from Gasol with five seconds to play. After one free throw by Dallas’ Jason Kidd, Bryant missed a 3-pointer.
Hawks 103, Bulls 95
CHICAGO — Joe Johnson scored 34 points and Atlanta beat top-seeded Chicago in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
As if the loss itself wasn’t bad enough, the Bulls got a scare when Derrick Rose came up limping after he turned his left ankle at the end of the game. Rose stepped on Jamal Crawford’s foot as he dribbled out the final seconds and was helped off by teammates and a trainer.
“I should be OK,” Rose said. “I’ll probably get treatment right now, go home, get some more treatment and be ready to go for (Game 2) Wednesday.”
The Hawks went on a 15-2 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters to turn a 69-65 deficit into an 80-71 lead with 10:27 remaining. Johnson scored eight points during that stretch.
Johnson hit 12-of-18 shots and all five 3-point attempts. Crawford scored 22 points, and Jeff Teague added 10 while starting at the point for the injured Kirk Hinrich and wound up getting the game ball from coach Larry Drew.
“We’re the team that nobody talks about,” Crawford said.
