Rockets 81 - 90 Mavericks
Final
  for this game

Nowitzki lifts Mavericks over Rockets

Mar 28, 2012 - 4:19 AM Dallas, TX (Sports Network) - Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points on Tuesday and the Mavericks downed the Rockets, 90-81.

Rodrigue Beaubois added 14 points, Brandan Wright had 13 and Jason Terry finished with 12. Dallas, which was coming off of Sunday's overtime win over Houston, has won six of eight overall.

The Rockets followed Sunday's setback with an overtime win over the Kings and led by as many as 16 on Tuesday, but were outscored 44-32 in the second half to suffer the loss. Luis Scola had 22 points and eight rebounds, Goran Dragic chipped in 17 points and Chandler Parsons finished with 15.

"I thought they amped it up defensively," said Rockets coach Kevin McHale. "They put (Shawn) Marion and some different guys on Goran to try and slow him down some. But we had some looks, we had our opportunities, [but] we're a team that we're going to have to make some of our shots. That's just kind of the way we're constituted."

Houston was up 53-48 in the third when the Mavericks unleashed a 16-2 surge to grab decisive control of the contest. Terry began the run with seven straight points while Jason Kidd, Wright and Marion also scored. Lamar Odom, who finished with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, capped it with a layup for a 64-55 lead.

The Mavericks never trailed again. They were up 69-61 after three and led by as many as 13 in the fourth.

Houston opened the game with a 15-4 run behind three-pointers from Parsons, Dragic and Courtney Lee. Another three, this time from Chase Budinger, made it 26-10 late in the first, marking the Rockets' largest lead of the game.

They were up 30-19 after one and never trailed in the second, though the Mavericks closed the quarter with a 10-2 run, cutting their deficit to 49-46 at the break.

"We got off to a very poor start," said Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle. "They're a high energy team and they came out with a lot of force and we just didn't play well. Odom, Terry, Wright, all of those guys that came in...Beaubois had a very impactful game. All of those guys did and they were the difference."

Game Notes

Dallas has won six in a row against Houston...Odom added four rebounds and three assists in nearly 23 minutes...Dragic tied a career-high with four steals.






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