LOS ANGELES, April 9 (UPI) -- The Dallas Mavericks suffered their 25th straight road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night, absorbing a 108-99 setback.
The contest went a long way toward putting the teams into a first-round playoff matchup.
Dallas has not beaten the Lakers in Los Angeles since Dec. 12, 1990.
For much of the '90s, the Mavericks were near the bottom of the NBA, but as they have climbed into the league's upper echelon, they still have been unable to break through in L.A.
Even earlier this season, when the Mavericks were way out in front of the rest of the NBA, they blew a 34-point lead in a loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Dec. 6.
Tuesday's disappointing loss dropped Dallas (57-20) into a tie with San Antonio atop the Midwest Division. The division winner likely will get the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs, while the second-place team will be seeded third, and likely, will face the sixth-seeded Lakers in the first round.
Somewhat surprisingly, reserve forward Devean George paced six Lakers in double figures with 21 points.
Dirk Nowitzki and Raef LaFrentz had 26 points each for Dallas.
