Five things to take from Lakers’ 109-93 win over Mavericks

Here are five things to take away from the Lakers’ 109-93 victory Wednesday over the Dallas Mavericks.

1. The Lakers sustained a double-digit first-half lead. The official dagger came when Matt Barnes nailed a deep three-pointer with a little over two minutes left. It pretty much symbolized everything regarding what the Lakers brought for most of the game. After a somewhat sluggish start, the Lakers looked completely dialed in. That attitude applied everywhere: on the boards (37-22), in ball movement and shot selection (58.4%) and on their frontcourt defense (holding Dirk Nowitzki to a 10-of-24 clip). The only minor grievance involved not taking Dallas’ perimeter shooting seriously, which played a large factor in Jason Terry going for 23 points on eight-of-14 shooting off the bench. But that’s splitting hairs. Outlined more below, the Lakers put in a complete-game effort and didn’t allow Dallas much of a chance to chop away at a lead the Lakers tried so hard in building.

2. Ramon Sessions making a case why he’s a legit starter. But he’s making a stronger case why he’s fine for now as a reserve. Yeah, it’s easy to get wowed by the Lakers’ new acquisition. He scored 17 points, either by driving to the basket when Dallas went over screens or by drilling a three-of-four mark from three-point range when the Mavs went over the screens. Meanwhile, Steve Blake’s three points on one-of-six shooting demonstrated his continued struggles at maintaining the point guard position. I’ll have more on Blake’s play below, but it’s not really necessary at this point to start Sessions.

Here’s why: Lakers Coach Mike Brown played Sessions for 29 minutes, mixing him with lineups that featured starters and reserves. That include Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Josh McRoberts and Matt Barnes on one unit and Andrew Bynum, Troy Murphy, Metta World Peace and Barnes on another unit. Sessions is boosting everyone around him, whether it’s giving Bryant great looks on the wing, setting up Barnes for his fourth consecutive double-figure night through off-ball cuts or feeding the bigs inside.

Keeping Sessions on the second unit for now will instantly bolster the bench’s last-place rank in scoring. It will give him more chances to drive to the basket. And it will give the Lakers an extra boost in the middle of the first quarter. Meanwhile, keeping him late in the game with the starters will give them speed when everyone else is tired and more balance on the floor when execution proves more significant.

3. Kobe Bryant gets his shot back. The highlight reels will show Bryant catching Pau Gasol’s lob and making a layup after flinging it over his head. But what remains just as impressive involves his shooting stroke coming back. His 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting marked the first time in 10 games that he’s shot above 50%. Part of that can be attributed to fatigue after logging a league-leading 38.7 minutes all season. Against Houston, the effort involved gunning too much. But against Dallas, Bryant took advantage of Shawn Marion remaining out of the lineup by finding open catch-and-shoot opportuniites.

4. Pau Gasol played very efficiently. Gasol was all over the place. Whether nailing an open three-pointer, driving for an underhanded layup or just keeping Nowitzki in check, Gasol played an efficient all-around game. The most impressive part of his 27-point performance on 13-of-16 shooting pointed to his ability to make mid-range jumpers with incredible consistency.

5. Steve Blake needs to play with more confidence. In one two-minute sequence in the third quarter, the Lakers’ strong ball movement and spacing set Blake up for three open outside shots. He missed a 12-footer and a 25-foot three-pointer before finally making another attempt behind the arc. As much as Blake needs to hit those open shots, it’s good that he didn’t shy away from taking them. Normally, he has. And through most of his 17 minutes, Blake played as if he felt like the starting position was just about to get yanked from him.

That tentativeness has largely contributed to Blake making the safe pass, six field-goal attempts in the past three games and five turnovers in that same stretch. Even if Sessions winds up the starting position eventually, there’s no reason for Blake to play so uptight.