Mavericks top Clippers, 96-92
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Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points, 11 in the final six-plus minutes, Shawn Marion added 16, and the Dallas Mavericks held on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 96-92, Monday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Jason Terry, Vince Carter and Brendan Haywood all contributed 10 points for the Mavericks, who have won 10 in a row at home against the Clippers and extended their overall winning streak to four.
Caron Butler of the Clippers scored a season-high 23 points against his former team, and Blake Griffin added 20 points.
Chris Paul had 16 points and nine assists for the Clippers, but Griffin's problems from the foul line cost his team as he missed 7 of 9 free throws.
The Clippers, who completed a 4-2 road trip, haven't beaten the defending NBA champs in Dallas since April 19, 2006.
Dallas took control with a 7-0 fourth-quarter run capped by Marion's layup with 4:48 remaining for an 86-83 edge.
Griffin had a chance to get the Clippers closer, but missed five consecutive free throws until connecting with 2:15 to play to pull his team within two (86-84).
Jason Kidd set up Terry for a layup with 2:02 left, and Nowitzki intercepted Griffin's pass with 1:47, and drained two free throws to extend Dallas' edge to 90-84.
Griffin's three-point play with 1:24 remaining and Kenyon Martin's layup with one minute left narrowed the Mavericks' lead to 90-89.
Nowitzki drained a 19-footer from the right wing and, after Marion stole the ball from Martin, converted two free throws with 21.2 seconds left for a 94-89 advantage. Paul's 3-pointer with 17.8 seconds got the Clippers within two points, and Butler missed a 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds left.
Delonte West made two free throws with 2.9 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
• Heat 114, Bucks 96: LeBron James scored 35 points and visiting Miami Heat finally found a way to beat Milwaukee, using a third-quarter surge to beat the Bucks. Dwyane Wade scored 22 and Mario Chalmers added 13 for the Heat, which was 0-2 against the Bucks coming into the game. James scored 16 of his points in the third quarter as the Heat outscored the Bucks, 35-24, to take control.
First Published February 14, 2012 12:00 am
