The first half of the Mavericks' debacle against the Los Angeles Lakers was a full-blown embarrassment, particularly because of the way they were powerless to attack the Lakers' defense.

These are the sort of offensive meltdowns that weren't supposed to happen anymore after obtaining Jason Kidd.

But against the Lakers, who were playing without big men Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, the Mavericks got only 10 points in the paint before halftime and just four second-chance points, key factors in LA building what turned out to be a just-big-enough 59-38 lead.

The Mavericks made a huge second-half rally, but fell short, 102-100.

"We dug ourselves a big, hole," coach Avery Johnson said. "We didn't do anything right in the first half. We didn't execute the game plan. We didn't hustle enough. Just very disappointing."

The Mavericks' offense was never worse than it was at the end of the first half. They were already down, 50-38, before Kidd and Jerry Stackhouse bricked 3-pointers. That opened the gates for a 9-0 Lakers binge to close out the half.

Dallas made just two field goals in the final 6:30 of the first half.

Part of the problem was Erick Dampier's absence. He picked up his second foul with 7:23 to go in the first quarter. When he went out, the Mavericks were up, 12-7. When he left, the Lakers went on a 30-11 run that bled into the second quarter.

The Mavs' comeback was triggered when Jason Terry sparked the offense in the third quarter, but they had too far to climb.

Kobe's greatest hits: As always, Lakers MVP candidate Kobe Bryant wasn't shy about weighing in on various topics.

• On why he lights up the Mavericks every time he sees them:

"I don't know, maybe it's Mark [Cuban]. I don't know. Mark inspires me to kick butt, I guess. I just for some reason get a pretty good rhythm playing against Dallas.

"Maybe it's the green uniforms. I hate green. I hated the Celtics growing up."

• On the trade for Kidd and what it means for the Mavericks:

"They run a lot more, obviously. Dirk's not like the fastest guy in the world. But he realizes if he gets out on the wing and runs, he's going to get a lot of easy baskets. A couple times I played with Jason in the All-Star Game, it took two possessions for me to realize I had to get my butt down there, and then I was getting easy layups and easy shots."

• On the competitive West:

"Usually, you get a couple sleeper games. In the Western Conference, you just don't have those anymore. Every game is just so tough. Every team in the Western Conference is so potent. You got all these teams that are very easy to get up for."

• On the loss of center Andrew Bynum:

"The biggest thing we lost with him was how he anchored our defense. We had a legitimate 7-1 center who could block shots."

Rooting for the flu: Kidd was asked the best way to defend Bryant, and he could only come up with one possibility.

"Maybe if he got sick and didn't put on a uniform," Kidd said. "Even if he got sick, he'd still put on a uniform. He's just that type of competitor. We saw in LA, where he had 52. He's a guy who can take over the game when his team needs a basket. He's always there for the big plays."

Thunder alley: When the Lakers had shootaround Tuesday morning at AAC, a ferocious thunderstorm was passing by outside.

As Bryant was addressing the media, a thunderclap boomed loud enough to be clearly audible inside the arena.

"That's all right," Bryant said, "we're in no rush to get to Salt Lake, trust me."

The Lakers play at Utah on Thursday.