 During the second game of the series, Barea converted 12 points coming off the bench to lead a fourth-quarter rally that secured the 93–81 win for Dallas.With the game already decided and 24 seconds remaining, Barea was clotheslined by Lakers' forward Ron Artest, for which Ron was subsequently suspended.After the game, the Lakers praised Barea's performance with Phil Jackson even comparing him to star point guard Chris Paul, while Kobe Bryant went on record saying that "Barea kicked our asses".