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Mavs dominate fourth sans Dirk to top Thunder

Dec 28, 2010 - 5:52 AM Oklahoma City, OK (Sports Network) - Jason Terry scored 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and the Mavericks, despite playing most of the game without Dirk Nowitzki, shut down the Thunder in the final period and posted a 103-93 victory.

Nowitzki departed the game just 2:50 into the second quarter with a sore right knee. He came down awkwardly on his ankle after hitting a jumper, and he left the game after completing the three-point play. He finished with 13 points.

"This is a weird injury, I've never had it," Nowitzki said. "For a rolled ankle I probably would have walked it off and came right back out there, but this is something else. We're going to look at it and see where it is tomorrow. It's kind of day-to-day from this point."

Shawn Marion posted 20 points and nine rebounds for Dallas, which has won five in a row and 17 of its last 18 games. Caron Butler tallied 21 points, while DeShawn Stevenson scored 12. Jason Kidd narrowly missed a triple-double with 10 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. He also had four steals.

Kevin Durant scored 28 points, while James Harden ended with 18 for the Thunder, who were coming off an eight-point home win over the Nuggets on Christmas Day. Russell Westbrook scored 15 and Jeff Green 12 for Oklahoma City, which was held to 4-of-18 shooting from the field in the last quarter.

Harden's two free throws gave the Thunder an 84-83 lead with nine minutes remaining, but Terry then took the game into his own hands, hitting a three- pointer and two more jumpers on a personal 7-0 burst. Butler later drilled a three-ball for a 93-86 cushion with 5:12 left.

The Thunder never got closer than six points the rest of the way.

"We just picked a bad time to miss shots," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "I thought the fourth quarter, when they went to the zone, we just couldn't buy any baskets."

Durant had 12 points in the opening quarter, but the Thunder trailed 34-29 after 12 minutes. Westbrook's jumper provided the Thunder with a four-point edge 3:18 into the contest, but the Mavs embarked on a dominating 18-4 burst. Kidd hit a pair of three-pointers, while Butler and Stevenson also drained shots from beyond the arc during the rally to give Dallas a 24-14 advantage.

Harden's three-ball cut Oklahoma City's deficit to 46-45 midway through the second, and Eric Maynor knocked down a shot from three-point range with seven seconds left, tying the game at 56 heading into halftime.

It was tight throughout the third quarter, but the Thunder forced five turnovers in the period, leading to eight points. That helped Oklahoma City to an 81-79 edge going to the fourth.

Game Notes

Nowitzki (21,811) is two points behind Gary Payton for 24th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list...Terry also had eight assists...Dallas was 11-of-23 from beyond the arc...It was Dallas' second win at Oklahoma City this season, following up a 111-103 triumph on November 24.