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Mavericks use big fourth quarter to beat Jazz

Mar 27, 2011 - 4:19 AM Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - Jason Terry scored 22 points off the bench, including 10 during a huge fourth quarter that lifted the Dallas Mavericks to a 94-77 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Trailing by two points entering the fourth, the Mavericks outscored Utah 36-17 the rest of the way for their third straight win, pulling within one game of the Los Angeles Lakers for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

Although neither player was on the court for more than six minutes in the fourth quarter, Dirk Nowitzki added 19 points and Shawn Marion scored 13 in the victory.

Dallas, after shooting below 39 percent for the first three quarters, went 11- for-17 in the fourth (65 percent) including a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range.

"Offensively, we just made stuff happen. Guys got hot," said Nowitzki. "We definitely made some timely shots, but I think the difference was the defense."

"They just started making shots on us and took the wind out of us a little bit," said Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin.

Utah got 21 points from Al Jefferson before he was ejected with 48.5 seconds left in the game after picking up two technical fouls.

"It's always frustrating to lose. Against a team like that, we can't make too many mistakes," said Jefferson. "And we made some mistakes in the fourth quarter."

C.J. Miles scored 16 points and Paul Millsap added 15 for the Jazz, who have lost five straight to fall to 11th in the Western Conference -- 4 1/2 games behind No. 8 Memphis with just eight remaining.

Despite trailing 60-58 after three quarters, the Mavericks swept the season series with Utah for the first time since winning all three games during the 2004-05 season.

Most of the damage was done during a 13-0 run in the middle of the fourth, sparked by back-to-back three-pointers by J.J. Barea and Terry that gave Dallas the lead for good at 74-70.

Marion added a dunk, Terry made a pair of free throws and Tyson Chandler capped the surge with a three-point play, making it 81-70 with 3:49 remaining. The Jazz were never closer than nine the rest of the way.

"It wasn't pretty there for a while," said Nowitzki, "but to hold them under 80 in their own building is a great job."

Game Notes

Utah had a 22-20 lead after the first quarter and a 47-43 advantage at halftime after shooting 54 percent in the opening 24 minutes...The Mavericks started a six-game road trip that will also include games against the Suns, Clippers, Lakers, Warriors and Trail Blazers...Chandler scored 10 points for Dallas...The Jazz fell to 0-2 on a four-game homestand that will conclude with visits from the Wizards and Lakers.