3:11 AM
Bryant and Pau Gasol fumbled away the Lakers' first opportunity before Bryant just plain missed his last shot, allowing Dirk Nowitzki and his tenacious Mavs to take an early second-round series lead.
Nowitzki scored 28 points and hit two go-ahead free throws with 19.5 seconds left before Gasol and Bryant made a crucial turnover, and the Mavericks rallied for a 96-94 victory in Game 1 on Monday night.
"You've got to make plays, and you've got to dodge some bullets," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "We did both."
Nowitzki had 14 rebounds for the Mavericks, who steadily erased a huge third-quarter deficit before the dramatic finish to the perennial playoff teams' first postseason meeting in 23 years.
The Lakers are "highly concerned," said Bryant, who scored 21 of his 36 points in the second half. "This team can beat us, it's clear."
After Nowitzki's free throws gave Dallas its first lead of the second half, Bryant fell down under defensive pressure from Jason Kidd while trying to get the ball from Gasol with 5 seconds to play. After one free throw by Kidd, Bryant missed a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer off the back rim just before the buzzer.
"It's definitely a great win for us, but if you look at their last series, they lost Game 1 and came right back and won the next two and had the series back in control," Nowitzki said. "We'd love to go for it in Game 2."
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