DALLAS -- Despite his team's 3-0 deficit in the Western Conference semifinals after the Dallas Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 98-92 on Friday, Kobe Bryant remains steadfast in his thinking: The Lakers can win this thing.

"I don't know, I might be sick in the head or crazy or thrown off or something like that because I still think we're going to win this series," Bryant said after totaling 17 points and six assists in Game 3. "I might be nuts. ... Let's win on Sunday, go back home and see if they can win in L.A."

Following L.A.'s Game 2 loss, Bryant said, "If you want to make history, you have to do historic things."

A comeback by the Lakers to win four straight to advance to the conference finals wouldn't just be historic; it would be unprecedented.

No NBA team has ever won a series after trailing 3-0; the trailing team has gone 0-98 in those situations.

It is one of the rarest feats to pull off in all of American pro sports. A comeback from a 3-0 deficit in Major League Baseball has happened just once, when the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees in 2004.

"They do it in hockey all the time," Bryant said. "I know hockey guys are tough and all this other stuff, but I like to think we're pretty tough, too."