The Lakers used a 14-2 run in the final 2:31 of the second quarter, aided greatly by two boneheaded plays by Jason Terry and Dirk Nowtizki, to take a 53-44 lead at halftime over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of their second round NBA playoff battle at Staples Center. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 14 points, including a free throw with 0.7 seconds left in the half after a technical foul on Nowitzki. This followed a foul call on Jason Terry, who was guarding Lamar Odom 45 feet from the basket as time was running out in the half.
The Lakers trailed by a score of 25-23 after one, but turned up the defense in the second quarter. Dallas shot 47.8% from the field in the first quarter, but were limited to 36.8% in the second quarter. The Lakers outrebounded the Mavericks 26-17 in the first half, including 12-6 in the second quarter.
The Lakers seemingly ignored Andrew Bynum for most of the half, as he had four points and four boards. Pau Gasol picked up the slack with nine points, six rebounds, and five assists. Nowitzki had 12 points and five rebounds for Dallas, who was led by Terry's 13 points off the bench. There was no real foul trouble in the first half, as only Terry and Matt Barnes have two personal fouls. There have, however, been technical fouls on Terry, Gasol, and Tyson Chandler.
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