Mavs Beat Winless Lakers 103-93 Behind Nowitzki's 25 Points

 

Rick Carlisle is the only coach to guide the Dallas Mavericks to an NBA title, and now he's their career wins leader, too.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points and the Mavericks held off a late rally by the winless Los Angeles Lakers for a 103-93 victory on Sunday night. It was Carlisle's 340th as their coach, breaking Don Nelson's franchise record in 29 fewer games. Nelson is the NBA leader with 1,335 victories, 282 more than Carlisle.

"Nellie is one of the all-time greats. He's a great friend, and in his honor tonight, I'm going to crack open a beer and drink one to him," Carlisle said. "All the love and respect to Nellie for what he stood for in this game and how he's mentored so many of us younger guys along the way.

Dallas never trailed in their eighth straight victory over the Lakers and fourth in a row against them at Staples Center.

This is the first time in franchise history the Lakers have started 0-3 in consecutive seasons. They lost their first five games last season and ended with their worst record ever (21-61).

The Mavericks opened the game with a 15-0 blitz that included two 3-pointers each by Wesley Matthews and Nowitzki — the latter has made more 3-point shots than any 7-footer in league history (1,580). The Lakers missed their first five shots before Julius Randle's dunk with 7:13 left in the first quarter.

Randle posted his second consecutive double-double with 22 points and 15 rebounds. The 20-year-old broke his right leg 14 minutes into his NBA debut on opening night last year and missed the rest of the season after the Lakers picked him seventh overall in the 2014 draft.