Preview: Dallas @ Los Angeles

With Gasol back in the lineup, the Los Angeles Lakers look to keep rolling tonight as they meet with the suddenly healthy Dallas Mavericks.

Dirk Nowitzki made an unexpected return Wednesday night against Golden State, as he scored 18 points, leading Dallas to a much needed victory.

“His presence is big on this team and we came out and played hard for him,” said Josh Howard. “He showed a lot of energy when he was on the court and that carried over to everyone.”

Gasol returned to the lineup on Wednesday as well, scoring only 10 points, but adding 7 assists and 6 rebounds in 32 minutes of play.

“I think he looked great,” said Kobe Bryant. “He looked good yesterday in practice and he played extremely well tonight.”

Bryant scored 37 points while adding 13 rebounds and 7 assists for the Lakers, who are currently 3rd in the packed Western Conference.

The previous time these two teams met, it ended in a nail-biting thriller as the Lakers squeezed out a victory behind 29 points from Kobe Bryant.

“It’s a big win for us,” Bryant said after that game. “We had to stop the bleeding. We got a big lead, but it wasn’t the way we wanted to close out the game. But we got the win.”

The Lakers led by as many as 25 points midway through the 3rd period.

As of tonight, the Lakers magic number to clinch a playoff birth is 2 games.

Dallas Mavericks Starting 5: