To be taken seriously in the NBA, one of the rules is you have to beat the occasional contender.

Right now, the only thing serious about the Mavericks is their condition, which is in danger of being downgraded to critical.

They were on their way toward perhaps the ugliest night in American Airlines Center history. That they saved face in the second half was fine. But they couldn't save a game that truthfully was lost before halftime.

The Mavericks fell behind by 25 points, made a spirited rally, then couldn't close the deal, dropping a 102-100 decision to the Lakers on Tuesday evening in front of a sellout crowd that booed loud and long, but was poised for unbridled passion during the comeback.

They left unfulfilled.

Dirk Nowitzki had a chance to tie or win in the final four seconds. After Derek Fisher hit the second of two free throws for a two-point LA lead, the Mavericks got the ball to Nowitzki, who had a huge night with 35 points and 11 rebounds.

But Josh Howard's poor pass went near Nowitzki's ankles, and the forward had to gather himself and fire an off-balance 3-pointer that missed badly at the buzzer.

With that, the Mavs' five-game winning streak against flimsy competition ended. They haven't beaten a team over .500 since the All-Star break (0-6). They have only one such win (over Portland at AAC) since Feb. 4 at Orlando.

No wonder they were booed off the court after a 9-0 LA finish to the first half that put the Lakers ahead, 59-38.

"The fans were booing a little there in the first half," Nowitzki said. "It wasn't pretty there.

"When we showed some energy and some heart, they came alive and pushed us."

By then, it was too late. The Mavericks missed a chance to make any sort of statement against one of the teams ahead of them in the compact Western Conference playoff picture.

"It's not the time now to hang our heads," Nowitzki said. "You got to keep fighting and keep swinging."

Dallas did neither for 2 ½ quarters against the Lakers. Not surprisingly, Kobe Bryant put his unmistakable stamp on the game.

In an epic move, Bryant finished a third-quarter fast break with a whirling, over-the-shoulder shot that somehow found the basket and put the Mavs in a 76-51 hole.

By then, the Mavericks didn't look like the team that couldn't wait to get one of the West's big boys in their crosshairs. When they finally did, not only could they not pull the trigger, they couldn't even find their gun.

"They played early like their basketball lives depended on it," coach Avery Johnson said of the Lakers. "And we didn't. We played like we were in apologetic mode, like we shouldn't even be here."

The comeback was highlighted with a pair of Nowitzki 3-pointers, the second of which came with 41.3 seconds left and cut LA's lead to 98-97. Dallas had trailed by seven with 70 seconds to go.

When Sasha Vujacic missed a jumper, the Mavericks got the rebound with 29.8 seconds to go, but Jerry Stackhouse was called for a loose-ball foul.

Lamar Odom, who had 17 points and 17 rebounds, hit both free throws for a three-point lead.

The Mavericks worked the ball around the perimeter with Kidd launching an off-balance 3-point attempt that missed badly. Vujacic hit one free throw with 14.1 seconds left, but Terry's outrageous trey with 4.9 to go set up Nowitzki's late chance.

"It was a triple-pick for him," Johnson said. "We didn't get him open enough, and he couldn't get the ball cleanly."

The Mavericks with Jason Kidd:

• 0-6 record vs. winning teams

• 6.8 points avg. margin of loss

• 9-0 record vs. losing teams

• 18.4 points avg. margin of victory