Dirk Nowitzki and Dallas Mavericks Advance to 2011 Western Conference Finals After Sweeping Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers (Getty)

The Los Angeles Lakers got pounded (and swept) by the Dallas Mavericks 122-86 Sunday in Game 4 of their Western Conference Semifinals series.  The Mavericks will face either the Oklahoma City Thunder or Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference Finals.

The Lakers, on the other hand, go home.  It is most likely the last time we will see coach Phil Jackson on the Lakers’ sideline.

Before the game, Kobe Bryant still felt the Lakers would come back to take the series in seven games. No NBA team has ever done that.

In fact, only four American sports teams have ever come back to win a series after being down 3-0.

That’s today’s Sports List of the Day:

1. 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs (Stanley Cup Finals over Detroit Red Wings)

2. 1975 New York Islanders (Quarter-Finals over Pittsburgh Penguins)

3. 2004 Boston Red Sox (ALCS over New York Yankees)

4. 2010 Philadelphia Flyers (Conference Semi-Finals over Boston Bruins)