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Mavs run Cleveland's losing streak to 25

Feb 8, 2011 - 5:31 AM Dallas, TX (Sports Network) - Another win for the Dallas Mavericks, another loss for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

So it goes.

Jason Terry had 23 points off the bench and the Mavericks beat Cleveland on Monday, 99-96, to earn their ninth straight win and push the Cavs' NBA-record losing streak to 25 games.

Cleveland had a chance to tie, but like so many other times during a streak that has lasted nearly two months, couldn't pull through.

Anthony Parker missed a long three-point attempt several feet beyond the top of the arc in the final seconds. The Cavs secured the rebound, but passed the ball around the arc as time ran out.

"I thought we probably could've gotten a little bit of a better shot," Cleveland head coach Byron Scott said of Parker's try. "But other than that, for 48 minutes I thought we played really hard."

Impossibly, the Cavs set yet another dubious milestone.

Loss No. 25 also set a team record, surpassing the streak they carried into the game and also the 24-gamer that spanned the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons.

Cleveland fell to 1-35 in its last 36 games and lost for the 26th straight time on the road, despite getting 26 points and 12 rebounds from J.J. Hickson and 19 points and 13 assists from Ramon Sessions.

"We've just got to keep playing like that and it's going to happen," Scott said. "It's going to happen real soon."

Shawn Merion had 17 points and 10 rebounds in a reserve role for Dallas, while Dirk Nowitzki scored 12 and Tyson Chandler added 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Mavericks, despite leading by as many as 15 points in the game, almost gave it away with a performance head coach Rick Carlisle called inconsistent.

"I thought there were times when it was really good, but our energy level was not where it's supposed to be," said Carlisle. "That's why we were so poor in transition defense."

Trailing by just four points entering the final quarter, the Cavs rallied to tie the game twice early on. Dallas then ripped off a 12-2 run, taking a 91-81 lead when Terry buried a three-pointer from the wing with 5:43 remaining.

The Cavs chipped away. Antawn Jamison scored the last of his 18 points on a three from the top of the arc to get them within 97-94 inside of two minutes, but missed from the same spot the next time down the court.

Hickson was then called for an offensive foul after shoving Jason Kidd in the lane, and Terry drilled a clutch jumper with 35.9 ticks left for a five-point lead.

Hickson's putback dunk drew the Cavs within three again -- but it would be their final bucket.

Nowitzki turned the ball over, leading to Parker's long three-point attempt. Jamison tapped the rebound back out, but Cleveland wasted the final seconds on passes without attempting a shot before the buzzer.

"We came out and played against a very, very good basketball team and fought them tooth and nail all the way down to the end," said Scott. "I have no qualms about the way we played, how hard we played."

Cleveland opened the game with an 8-1 run while the Mavericks missed their first nine shots. The Cavs didn't relinquish the lead until Jose Barea's three-pointer gave the Mavericks a 29-28 edge heading into the second quarter.

Barea's shot sparked a 10-0 Dallas run that bled into the first four minutes of the second quarter. The Mavericks led by as many as 15 points three times, but Cleveland cut its deficit to 59-49 at halftime.

"We are making great strides, we are doing things the right way," Parker said. "The signs are there. We are improving, but the next thing is we have to get over that hump. But we are right there."

Game Notes

Cleveland dropped 19 in a row to close out the 1981-82 season and went on to lose the first five in 1982-83...The Mavericks have also beaten the Nets, Clippers, Rockets, Hawks, Wizards, Knicks, Celtics and Bobcats on their nine- game winning streak -- the longest in the NBA at the moment...Dallas has won 15 of the last 21 meetings between the teams...Cleveland has lost nine of its last 11 visits to Dallas...Nowitzki appeared to hurt his right wrist in the first quarter after he was sandwiched between Dallas' Ian Mahinmi and Cleveland's Ryan Hollins, leaving the floor when the period was over. But he returned to play.