THE WEEK AHEAD: 3 GAMES

Tuesday vs. Dallas, 7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Net -- The last time the Mavericks beat the Lakers in Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant was 12. He also had the best fade-away you’ve ever seen.

Thursday vs. Sacramento, 7 p.m., TNT -- Team Dime’s head dime, Mike Bibby, sends cousin after Shaq, Shaq sends back nickel, five pennies.

Sunday at Portland, 12:30 p.m., Channel 7 -- This is assuming Portland still has a team by then. If someone were going to be held and hit, we always figured General Manager Bob Whitsitt would have been involved.