Bryant had 38 points to win a scoring duel with Nowitzki, and Steve Nash helped beat his former team by scoring 20 points for the first time with the Los Angeles Lakers in a 103-99 victory against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

Nowitzki finished with a season-high 30 in a game that had a playoff feel from the start, even though both teams still have plenty of ground to make up to even qualify for the postseason. They trail eighth-place Houston by several games, but they are the franchises that have the last three NBA titles won by teams from the West.

Bryant and Nowitzki had 16 points apiece in the first half and were still even at 24 after the third quarter before Bryant scored 14 in the fourth, including seven in the last 3 minutes. They were a combined 8 of 9 from 3-point range and hit 24 shots and 12 free throws between them.

“It’s fun,” said Bryant, who also had 12 rebounds and seven assists. “He’s one of my all-time favorites. He’s a throwback type of player. He doesn’t mind the physicality. He made some incredible plays down the stretch.”

Bryant, who went past the 31,000-point mark, was playing in Mark Cuban’s building two days after the outspoken Dallas owner suggested in a radio interview that the Lakers might have to consider dumping the five-time NBA champion through the amnesty clause.

The Lakers responded by calling the comment inappropriate, and Cuban defended himself before the game.

“Amnesty THAT,” Bryant tweeted after the game.

“I’m sure if he wants to amnesty Dirk, that’s something we’ll be willing to entertain,” Bryant told reporters.

The Mavericks were so frustrated trying to guard Bryant, O.J. Mayo got called for a foul and a technical when he jumped around wildly after the whistle blew on a drive to the basket by Bryant. Nash made the technical shot, and Bryant hit his pair of free throws for a 94-90 lead.

“He’s been the best player in my decade,” said Nowitzki, who also had his season high with 13 rebounds after missing the first 27 games following knee surgery. “I’ve in the NBA a long time and he’s the one player I love to watch. It was a big game on the national TV stage. It was a fun one. We just came up a little bit short.”

Nowitzki was called for a technical earlier in the fourth quarter after a similar display when he missed a shot during a physical sequence with Metta World Peace.

“It was very intense,” said Mavericks rookie Jae Crowder, who spent his share of time trying to guard Bryant. “From the crowd standpoint, from the player standpoint, from the officiating. You could tell.”

Three times in the final 3 minutes, Bryant put the Lakers up four after the Mavericks had pulled within two. The last gave Los Angeles a 101-97 lead with 46.9 seconds left.

Nowitzki scored to make it a two-point game, and World Peace missed a free throw to give Dallas a chance to tie. Mayo missed a 3-pointer with about 5 seconds left, and Bryant clinched it with a free throw that made it a two-possession game.

“That’s why he’s Kobe Bryant,” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He’s not John Smith. No disrespect to John Smith, whoever he is. That’s what he does. That’s what he loves. That’s what he trains for.”

Nash had 13 of his 20 points and three of his four 3-pointers in the second half, including one that answered Mayo’s only bucket from long range and put the Lakers up 99-95.

“He came on in the second half and really gave us a big boost,” Bryant said. “He was very aggressive and it forced them to make changes defensively. He’s extremely clutch.”

Dwight Howard had three big free throws in the fourth, including one that put Los Angeles ahead for good at 91-90, and finished with nine points and 13 rebounds.

The Lakers had the biggest lead at six — several times — and the Mavericks erased each one through three quarters. Nowitzki’s 3-pointer from the top of the key late in the third made him 4 of 4 from long range and capped a 7-0 run for a 71-70 Dallas lead, but Bryant scored twice on drives after a timeout to put the Lakers in front again.

In the first half, Nowitzki was 5 of 8 from the floor, made both 3-pointers and all four free throws and led everyone with eight rebounds. Bryant, meanwhile, was 3 of 4 from long range, including a pair from well behind the arc, but just 1 of 6 inside the line. He had a game-high six assists before halftime.

Game notes

Bryant got a technical in the first quarter when he gestured at referee Ken Mauer after Darren Collison stole ball. It was his league-leading 13th technical — one ahead of DeMarcus Cousins of Sacramento. A one-game suspension is in order when a player reaches 16 technicals. … Mavericks C Chris Kaman entered the game in the second quarter after missing 10 straight games with a concussion. … The Mavericks scored at least 30 points in the first quarter for the fifth time in six games.

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Brooklyn At San Antonio
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, December 31, 2012
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Prediction: Spurs 105, Nets 96.

Oddsmakers currently have the Spurs listed as 9½-point favorites versus the Nets, while the game’s total is sitting at 197.

Brooklyn general manager Billy King said in an ESPN radio interview on Sunday that he had not contacted any high-profile coaching candidates. “We’ve put our support behind (Carlesimo), and then we’ll look at things and evaluate it later,” King said. Carlesimo guided the Nets to a 97-81 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday and a 103-100 triumph over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday by leaning on Lopez. The center has posted three straight double-doubles and went for a season-high 35 points in the win over Cleveland. Williams has recorded a total of nine assists and only one turnover in the two games under Carlesimo.

Last time out for Brooklyn, they were a 103-100 winner as they battled the Cavaliers at home. The Nets failed to cover in the match as an 8.5-point favorite, while 203 combined points moved the game OVER for totals bettors.

Team record: 16-14 SU, 13-16-1 ATS
Current streak: won 2 straight games.

The total has gone UNDER in 15 of last 17 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 5 games when playing San Antonio
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 5 games when playing on the road against San Antonio
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of last 8 games

When playing on Monday are 3-7
Before playing Oklahoma City are 3-7
After playing Cleveland are 3-7
After a win are 6-4

San Antonio crushed the Dallas Mavericks 111-86 on Sunday night and has won its last five by an average of 18.8 points. The Spurs got 84 points from Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan in a win over the Houston Rockets on Friday, and the three went for 59 in the victory on Sunday. With Monday being the second night of a back-to-back set, and with another back-to-back scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, coach Gregg Popovich could get creative with his substitution patterns in regard to those three players in particular. Parker was the only one to go over 30 minutes on Sunday and led the team with 21 points and nine assists.

In their last action, San Antonio was a 111-86 winner on the road against the Mavericks. They covered the 6-point spread as favorites, while the combined score (197) was profitable news for UNDER bettors.

Team record: 24-8 SU, 19-12-1 ATS
Current streak: won 5 straight games.

is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Brooklyn
is 18-1 SU in its last 19 games when playing Brooklyn

When playing on Monday are 6-4
Before playing Milwaukee are 8-2
After playing Dallas are 9-1
After a win are 8-2

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