The Los Angeles Lakers came off a 119-115 loss to the Houston Rockets looking to restart the momentum they had been building, and it looked like they had gotten a gift. They faced the Dallas Mavericks,

The Los Angeles Lakers head to he American Airlines Center to face the Dallas Mavericks in a Western Conference matchup. The Lakers are 20-15, which puts them in fifth place in the west. The Mavs are 20-16, which puts them in sixth place, directly behind the climbing Lakers.

After falling behind by as many as 22 points to the Rockets, the Lakers made things very competitive, but they couldn't come all the way back.

The Dallas Mavericks are spending $9,017,568 per win while the Houston Rockets are spending $7,715,360 per win That was certainly an ending in Warriors-Rockets. All four NBA quarterfinal games will be played on Dec. 10 and 11 in Las Vegas.

Kyrie Irving #11 of the Dallas Mavericks moves the ball down court against the Houston Rockets during the first half at Toyota Center on January 01, 2

The Dallas Mavericks are going to be seriously shorthanded for the next little while. Kyrie Irving is expected to miss a week or two due to a bulging disc in his back, ESPN's Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon reported Monday,