• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Nowitzki, Mavs easily top Raptors

Feb 28, 2011 - 2:47 AM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Dallas held Toronto to just 39 second-half points en rout to a 114-96 win.

Shawn Marion came off the bench for 20 points and six rebounds, while Jason Terry added 19 for the Mavericks, who have won six in a row and 16 of their last 17 contests.

Ian Mahinmi and Jose Barea added 13 and 12 points, respectively, in the win. Barea also had nine assists.

Amir Johnson led with 21 points for the Raptors, who have lost four of their last five contests and are 1-2 on a current four-game homestand. DeMar DeRozan chipped in with 19 points while Jose Calderon added 15 points and dished out eight assists.

Dallas went on a 11-point spurt early in the third quarter to grab a 65-61 lead. Nowitzki's long two-pointer sparked the run while Jason Kidd's three finished it off.

Calderon's jumper and DeRozan's breakaway jam were the next two buckets to knot it up with 5:10 left in the third. Dallas, though, scored seven straight with Terry's free throw finishing the flurry to go up by eight.

The Mavs then held onto a 75-72 lead into the fourth where they ballooned it to as much as 23 points.

Dallas made 75 percent (15-of-20) of its shots in the fourth quarter, while Toronto could not keep up, making 55 percent of its shots.

"We couldn't stop them in the second half," Johnson said. "Plain and simple... We couldn't stop them in the second half."

After Nowitzki scored the first bucket of the game, Toronto scored the next 18 points. Johnson scored eight points during the early spurt. Dallas, though, got the offense going to make it a 30-24 game after 12 minutes of play

"That was ugly early," Nowitzki said. "We couldn't get some stops. I thought our bench saved us. They were really ready."

Nowitzki's three-pointer with 8:20 left in the half made it a one-point game, 36-35. Leandro Barbosa responded with a trey and the Raptors built their lead back to double digits, 52-41, with 2:46 to go following Calderon's trey.

Toronto took a 57-50 margin into the locker room.

Game Notes

Dallas is 21-8 on the road...The Raptors had 13 turnovers, which the Mavs produced 24 points from.