IT'S A MISS FOR LAKERS EFFECTS SHOW WITHOUT ODOM IN LOSS TO DALLAS DALLAS 110, LAKERS 101.

Byline: ROSS SILER Staff Writer

DALLAS -- The numbers only begin to describe the void the Lakers will have to fill without Lamar Odom in the coming month, even if Odom can fill up the box score most nights like few players in the NBA.

The Lakers missed Odom in the worst way in Wednesday's 110-101 loss to Dallas, faltering in the fourth quarter on a night in which the Mavericks shot 60 percent as a team and Bryant spent more than 43 minutes on the floor.

``We were struggling all night tonight,'' Luke Walton said. ``We had some good basketball going when we tied the game (in the fourth). Besides that, we weren't all there tonight.''

Odom was back in Los Angeles, where the Lakers announced that he will miss a minimum of four weeks due to the sprained knee ligament he suffered in Tuesday's game against Houston. The best-case scenario would have Odom missing more than a dozen games and being sidelined into January. Until then, the Lakers will have to adjust to life without a player capable of putting up triple-doubles every game.

The Lakers missed Odom's playmaking Wednesday, totaling just 14 assists, and they missed his scoring alongside Bryant, who shouldered the load with 33points, 28 in the second half. They missed his rebounding, getting beat 39-31 on the boards.

Most of all, the Lakers missed Odom's defense, one of the least appreciated parts of his game. Josh Howard (29 points) and Jason Terry (26 points) both had big games for Dallas, but Dirk Nowitzki (23 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists) had the biggest of all.

``We really missed him on the defensive end of the floor,'' Bryant said, ``being able to match up with Nowitzki, chasing him through screens, contesting him, sliding his feet and staying in front of him. We missed him big-time tonight.''

Said Walton: ``We wanted to stop at least one of them, try to stop two of them, and we didn't stop any of them.''

Lakers coach Phil Jackson started forward Vladimir Radmanovic in Odom's place but never found a lineup with which he was comfortable. Jackson also wasn't happy with what he described as some ``weak- minded'' play in the first half.

The Mavericks led 8-0 before the game was three minutes old and made nine of their first 11shots. They were up 33-21after the first quarter and the Lakers were forced to come from behind all game.

Jackson said the Lakers were guilty of ``switching, and guys were getting mismatched on players that they shouldn't have been playing because we just didn't make the effort.

``Some of that was miscommunication. That'll happen when you have new people in the lineup like we did tonight.''

For all their early-season success, the Lakers have been unable to separate themselves from the Phoenix Suns and fell out of the Pacific Division lead with the loss. The Suns are 15-6 and won their 12th game in a row Wednesday by beating Miami.

The Lakers were up against a stacked deck at American Airlines Center, playing the second game of a back-to-back set on the road against the defending Western Conference champions.

The Mavericks started to pull away inside the final nine minutes. Howard made a jumper while being fouled by Radmanovic and converted the three-point play. Bryant had a shot blocked by Nowitzki at the other end and Terry connected on a 3-pointer.

Howard got a hand on a Bryant 3-pointer and Kwame Brown came up empty at the foul line. When Howard drove the lane and scored again, the Mavericks had a 95-85 lead with 7:18 remaining.

``All of a sudden, it seemed like an uphill battle again,'' Jackson said. ``I think sometimes that last run is the hardest to do on the road.''

Bryant carried the Lakers as his time on the bench seemed better measured in seconds than minutes. With Odom injured in the first quarter Tuesday, Bryant played 42:54 and 43:33 in back-to-back games.

He banged his funny bone in the third quarter but still totaled 17points as the Lakers rallied from 12 points down. They tied the score 74-74 as Bryant put the ball between his legs and buried a 3-pointer over Devean George.

Bryant made 9 of 18 shots for the game and went 14 of 17 from the foul line. The Lakers shot just 43.8 percent as a team. Walton finished with 13 points as the Lakers' second-leading scorer but made only three of 13 shots.

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(color) The Lakers' Kobe Bryant, right, tries to strip the ball away from Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki in Wednesday's game.

Tim Sharp/Associated Press