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Mavs slip past Rockets in OT

Mar 25, 2012 - 4:48 AM Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Dirk Nowitzki had 31 points and Brandan Wright blocked seven shots as the Dallas Mavericks edged the Houston Rockets, 101-99, in an overtime thriller on Saturday.

The Rockets had a chance to win it at the final buzzer, but Chase Budinger's three-pointer from the right corner clanked off the front of the rim.

Jason Terry had 24 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 36 seconds left in the extra session for the Mavericks, who have won five of their past seven games.

"We're fighting now. We're fighting every night we go out on the floor," Terry said. "Each game is very critical for us, as far as playoff positioning. It's been a tough season, but overall I like the effort of everybody. We're doing what we have to collectively as a group to have success."

Nowitzki got caught with an errant elbow above the right eye and needed four stitches to close the cut.

Chandler Parsons, who had 12 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, sent the game into overtime with a three-pointer at the buzzer.

Goran Dragic posted 24 points, eight assists and five rebounds while Luis Scola added 19 points and six boards for Houston.

"You can't expect much more than what we had today," Scola said. "We got good looks but they just didn't go in. We played well. We just need to keep going. We needed this game. It's a shame we weren't going to have it and now we've got to go out there to Dallas and try to get one."

Scola's hook shot in the paint gave the Rockets an 86-83 lead with 1:46 to play in regulation, but the Mavericks reeled off the next seven points.

Wright started it with an alley-oop layup off a feed from Shawn Marion and Terry gave the Mavs an 88-86 advantage with a straightaway triple with 59.2 seconds showing on the clock.

After Courtney Lee missed a trey, Wright's pull-up jumper from the left elbow made it 90-86 with 19.4 remaining.

Marcus Camby's tip-in pulled the hosts within two and Nowitzki, an always reliable free-throw shooter, split a pair to keep the contest a one-possession game.

That's when Parsons stepped up.

With Jason Kidd draped all over him, Parsons took one dribble to his left, and fired a contested three, which went down to the delight of the Houston faithful.

In the extra session with the game tied at 97, Terry's pull-up jumper from the left elbow gave Dallas a 99-97 lead.

After Wright swatted Lee's pull-up jumper, Nowitzki made a pair from the line to increase the advantage to 101-97 with 18.5 left.

Dragic made it a two-point game with a reverse layup and then Houston forced an eight-second violation as Rodrigue Beaubois was unable to escape the Rockets' trap in time.

But Budinger couldn't knock down the open three from the corner at the buzzer.

Houston shot just 38.5 percent for the game, but held a 52-38 rebounding margin and a 16-5 advantage on the offensive glass.

Houston led, 30-26 after one, but Dallas took a 56-54 lead into the locker room. Nowitzki led all first-half scorers with 16 points.

Nowitzki tallied 10 more points in the third, but the contest was tied at 72 heading into the fourth.

Game Notes

Wright also had 14 points and six rebounds...Dallas was 21-of-24 from the foul line while Houston finished 16-of-18 from the charity stripe...Samuel Dalembert added 16 points and seven boards for Houston.