Lakers fall to ageless Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks, 103-93

In his 18th season, Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki showed he’s aging well, leading his team to a 103-93 victory over the Lakers on Sunday night at Staples Center.

Nowitzki scored 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting while making a trio of three-pointers and collecting nine rebounds.

Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant -- in his 20th year -- struggled through an off night, scoring 15 points on three-for-15 shooting.

It took 4 minutes 28 seconds for the Lakers to finally score a point against the Mavericks; Bryant’s free throw stopped Dallas’ 15-0 run to start to the game.

Second-year forward Julius Randle was the Lakers’ best player on Sunday, reaching career highs with 22 points and 15 rebounds. He had four assists.

Dallas led by as many as 18 points, and while the Lakers were able to close to within six with 2 1/2 minutes left, the home team fell to 0-3 to start the season.

In addition to Bryant and Randle, the Lakers also got double-figure scoring from Lou Williams (13), D’Angelo Russell (10) and Brandon Bass (10).

The Mavericks had six players with at least 10 points: Zaza Pachulia (16, with 12 rebounds), Deron Williams (11), Raymond Felton (11), Wesley Matthews (10) and J.J. Barea (10).

Forward Chandler Parsons made his season debut for Dallas after recovering from a knee injury. In 12 minutes, Parsons scored two points on one-of-six shooting.

As a team, the Lakers shot 36.5% from the field and 29.4% (10 of 34) from three-point range. Dallas made 46% and 36.7% (11 of 30) of their shots, respectively. The Lakers managed to stay somewhat close to the Mavericks with 28 free throws, making 21 (75%). Dallas converted 75% (12 of 16) of their free throws.

The Lakers return to action Tuesday night at Staples Center against the Denver Nuggets (1-2). The Mavericks (2-1) return home to host the Toronto Raptors (3-0) on Tuesday.