Dallas tied an NBA Playoff record with 20 three-pointers to land the knockout blow on the aging and weary Lakers and send 11-time NBA champion coach Phil Jackson into retirement on a sour note.
Jason Terry drained nine three-pointers of his own and 32 points to send the Mavericks into the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2006.
In that season, Dallas lost to Miami in the NBA Finals despite holding a 2-0 series lead, but it suffered no such letdown against LA.
"We went to the finals that one year and have since had a couple early exits, but I think this team is as deep as any Mavs team I've been on and we're trying to go for it," Dallas All Star Dirk Nowitzki told reporters after finishing with 17 points.
"(The Lakers) are the defending champions. It was great to get through this series."
Kobe Bryant came out hot with 13 points in the first quarter, but finished with just 17 as the Mavs blitzed the visitors 36-16 in the second quarter to take a 24-point half-time lead.
The Lakers had reached the past three NBA Finals but in a season marked by inconsistent efforts they ultimately collapsed in Dallas in what was likely the end of Jackson's career.
Los Angeles big men Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum were ejected in the fourth quarter after taking cheap shots on Dallas players once the game was well out of reach.
Jackson, the most successful coach in NBA history, has maintained that this would be his final season.
Having led the Chicago Bulls to six championships in the 1990s, and the Lakers to five since, the 65-year-old has called it a career after his 20th season as a head coach.
"All of my hopes and aspirations are that this is the final game that I will coach," said Jackson.
"This has been a wonderful run. I go out with a sour note after being fined 35,000 dollars by the league earlier today."
The NBA fined Jackson earlier in the day for comments made about the officiating in the series.
Bryant, who has won each of his five titles with Jackson as coach, said he a hard time imagining playing for anyone else.
"It's tough to put into words what he's meant for me," Bryant said.
"I grew up under him. The way I approach and think about things, a lot of it comes from him because I've been around him so much.
"It's a little weird for me to think of what next year is going to be like."
-Reuters
Tags: sport, basketball, united-states
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