Pau Gasol a great defender?

Gasol never has been known for his defense, for being a stopper, for being something other than a skilled offensive player.

But there Gasol was Tuesday night, grinding it out against Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki, putting the clamps on the Mavericks’ All-Star forward during the Lakers’ 106-99 victory over the Mavericks.

It was Gasol’s job to contain his counterpart at power forward, and he did.

Nowitzki finished with 14 points, but he missed 12 of his 17 shots. Gasol had a lot to do with that.

Pau is really a great player, both at center and power forward.

At 7 feet, Gasol has the length to bother his man.