Mavs Get 2 Points In Third

The Dallas Mavericks were held to an NBA record-low two points in the third quarter Sunday night as the Los Angeles Lakers posted an 87-80 victory at Los Angeles.

Derek Fisher scored a career-high 21 points to pace the Lakers, who scored the first 24 points of the third period before Derek Harper hit two free throws for Dallas with 1:51 left in the quarter.

Los Angeles used the run to overcome a 51-37 halftime deficit and take a 64-53 lead going into the final period.

The Buffalo Braves scored four points in a quarter in 1972, and it was matched by the Sacramento Kings on Feb. 4, 1987.

Fisher, who replaced Lakers starting point guard Nick Van Exel, also equaled his career high in rebounds with six. Van Exel missed the game with a sore knee. It was the first game this season Van Exel has missed.

Eddie Jones added 17 points for Los Angeles and Sean Rooks had 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Harper led the Mavericks with 18 points, while Sasha Danilovic added 15.

Shawn Bradley had seven rebounds in the quarter, but the 7-foot-6 center tipped other loose balls to teammates as the Mavericks dominated the boards 14-7 in the first quarter.

The Lakers cut the lead to 41-35 at the four-minute mark of the second quarter before the Mavericks scored the next 10 points before taking a 51-37 halftime lead.

Jordan passes Big O for fifth place

Michael Jordan scored 37 points to move into fifth place on the NBA’s career scoring list and Chicago beat Orlando 110-94 to sweep the season series between the teams that met in last year’s Eastern Conference finals.

Jordan made his first six shots in the third quarter and had 13 points in a 21-2 run the Bulls used to break open a close game. He scored 24 points in the second half, moving past Oscar Robertson (26,710) on the career scoring list with 26,726.

Scottie Pippen scored 21 for Chicago, while Penny Hardaway and Rony Seikaly had 23 apiece for Orlando, which saw its lead in the race for the seventh playoff seeding in the East shrink to two games.

Rik Smits had 27 points and 11 rebounds as Indiana continued its playoff push with a 94-83 victory over Minnesota, preventing the Timberwolves from clinching their first playoff berth.

Minnesota, which has not made the playoffs in its first seven seasons, received 17 points and 11 assists from Stephon Marbury.