Lakers on brink of being ousted

Just when they were about to make things interesting, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers blew it.

Unable to stop Dirk Nowitzki all night, and their big lineup too slow to cover the outside shooting of Peja Stojakovic and Jason Terry down the stretch, the Lakers lost 98-92 to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday to fall in a 3-0 hole in their second-round series.

All 98 teams in NBA history that have trailed by that margin have wound up losing the series. Thus, the Lakers' two-year reign as NBA champions and their three-year grip on the Western Conference crown, plus the unprecedented coaching career of Phil Jackson, are all on the brink of going kaput - maybe even with the humiliation of a sweep.

"We're disappointed," said Jackson, who has never been down 3-0 in a series, much less been swept, in 20 years as an NBA coach. "We feel like Games 1 and 3 we controlled the pace of the games. They were better at finishing the games than we were. But we still believe we're going to win the next game and we'll go from there."

Game 4 is Sunday in Dallas.

Nowitzki scored 32 points, making 12 of 19 shots. Andrew Bynum had 21 points and 10 rebounds. Bryant scored 17, but only four in the final quarter.

Bulls 99, Hawks 82: Looking every bit like an MVP, Derrick Rose sliced up Atlanta for a career-high 44 points as visiting Chicago seized control of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Bulls lead the series 2-1, putting Atlanta in must-win position heading into Game 4 Sunday night.

Jeff Teague was about the only highlight for Atlanta, scoring 21 points.