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Mavericks turn away Warriors 110-101

Feb 4, 2010 - 5:31 AM By DAVID JIMENEZ Associated Press Writer

DALLAS(AP) -- Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks picked up the pace in the fourth quarter to hold off the sputtering Golden State Warriors.

Nowitzki scored nine of his 20 points in the final period, Jason Terry had 21 points and the Mavericks extended Golden State's losing streak to seven games, beating the Warriors 110-101 on Wednesday night.

In a loss at Utah on Monday night, Nowitzki did not take a shot from the field in the final quarter. The Jazz led by one after three and eventually won 104-92 as the Dallas star took only two free throws in the last 12 minutes.

Nowitzki, who had his thumb wrapped late in the third, scored six straight points after Golden State crept to 95-92 in the fourth.

"Teams are putting smaller guys on me," Nowitzki said. "When I go into the post, here comes the double-team and the ball is out of my hands. I wasn't getting a lot of looks. But I got enough to win the game."

Nowitzki was kicked in the right hand when he was fouled with 3:10 left in the third quarter. He left the game 17 seconds later and the training staff wrapped his thumb on the bench.

Nowitzki returned with 8:01 remaining in the game and was fouled hard driving to the basket seconds later.

"I bruised it two games ago and I got it kicked tonight," Nowitzki said. "So it'll stay sore for a while. But I was able to tape it and stay out there."

Four days after Portland's Andre Miller scored 52 points against Dallas, Golden State's Monta Ellis poured in a career-high 46 points.

"That's what we do," Nowitzki joked. "We give guys contract extensions."

Ellis hit 17 of 23 shots from the field and 8 of 13 free throws. Corey Maggette scored 20 points in the second half, and C.J. Watson had 14 points for the Warriors.

"That was a remarkable performance by Monta," said Golden State coach Don Nelson, who needs 11 wins to become the winningest coach in NBA history. "He didn't have a great supporting cast. But he fought and kept us in the game."

This is Golden State's second seven-game losing streak of the season. They also dropped seven straight from Dec. 9-23.

The Warriors slipped to 4-22 on the road and 13-35 overall, the second-worst record in the Western Conference.

"There's a lot we could have done to win this game," Ellis said. "We did everything we could to get back into it."

Dallas' Josh Howard scored 19 points, Shawn Marion added 18 and Drew Gooden had 16. Jason Kidd had 16 assists and tied a season high with six steals to help the Mavericks snap a three-game losing streak.

The Mavericks led by 18 points in the second quarter before the Warriors trimmed their deficit in the second half.

Ellis scored 12 in the third quarter to bring the Warriors within six and his layup sliced it to 95-92.

Nowitzki hit two free throws after grabbing an offensive rebound off a Terry miss. He added two mid-range jumpers to give Dallas a 101-92 lead with 3:20 remaining.

Ellis kept the Warriors close by scoring the next five points. The Mavericks pulled away when Nowitzki found Terry for a jumper and Kidd connected on a 3-pointer to make it 106-97 with 1:25 left.

"We had some tough stretches," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "We were able to get a couple of big stops and finish the game off. We needed a win, so it was good."

The Warriors hit 12 of 17 shots in the third, and they outscored the Mavericks 19-10 over the final 7:36 of the quarter to get to 81-75.

Maggette, who scored 11 in the third, hit a jumper and added a 3-pointer that cut Dallas' lead to six.

Dallas built a 41-23 cushion after going on 25-8 run that spanned the first and second quarters. Howard scored nine points, and Gooden added eight in the surge.

NOTES: Golden State F Vladimir Radmanovic (sore right Achilles') and G Anthony Morrow (sprained right knee) did not play. ... Mavericks C Erick Dampier (sore left knee) was inactive.