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Nowitzki lifts Mavericks over Magic

Mar 31, 2012 - 5:43 AM Orlando, FL (Sports Network) - Dirk Nowitzki knocked down the shot and let his tongue hang out.

The Dallas Mavericks are leaving Florida with the taste of victory in their mouths.

Nowitzki banked in a turn-around jumper over Hedo Turkoglu with 5.9 seconds left Friday night and the Mavericks held on for a 100-98 win over the Orlando Magic, stealing a game they trailed by as many as 15 points.

A night earlier, the Mavs lost by 21 to the Heat in their first trip to Miami since capturing the title there last year.

They escaped with the win Friday after Turkoglu bricked a three-pointer at the other end and Ryan Anderson missed a one-handed put back before the buzzer.

Nowitzki finished with 28 points, Jason Terry scored 17 and Shawn Marion and Delonte West both had 15 for the Mavs, who won their sixth straight game in Orlando.

"I'm proud of this team the way we bounced back," said West. "We put he whole package together."

Dallas will return home to begin a three-game swing Monday against another team in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race, the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Magic, who were coming off a 22-point loss in New York on Wednesday, were led by Jameer Nelson's 24 points. Anderson added 21 and Dwight Howard scored 19 with 15 rebounds.

Orlando, still a solid No. 3 in the Eastern Conference, turned the ball over 16 times -- leading to 20 Mavericks points and leaving head coach Stan Van Gundy to complain about his team's shortcomings.

Six of the turnovers came in the fourth quarter and 12 happened in the second half.

"You've got to get shots when you go down the floor and we didn't," said Van Gundy.

The Mavs, down by 15 in the third quarter, pulled within 78-71 going into the fourth. They tied the game twice before taking their first lead since 15-14 in the first quarter on two West free throws that made it 98-97 with 1:10 left.

Nelson, a former college teammate of West's at Saint Joseph's, tied the game after making 1-of-2 foul shots with 26.9 seconds remaining and the Mavs held for a shot at the other end after calling a timeout.

Nowitzki dribbled with his back to Turkoglu before turning and firing up the off-balanced shot from the high right side, getting it to drop in off the backboard.

"He's one of the best offensive players in the world and one of the best I've ever seen in my life," said Orlando's J.J. Redick. "Sometimes he just hits shots that make you shake your head."

Orlando took a timeout and got the ball to Nelson on the inbounds. After a quick dribble, he passed to Turkoglu on the left side but the three-point try clanked off the left side of the rim near the backboard.

Anderson pulled down the rebound and flicked up a soft one-hander, but it hit off the back of the rim.

Earlier, the Magic had a 32-19 lead early in the second quarter after an 18-4 run that started in the first. They led 55-46 at halftime and 77-62 with 2 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.

Game Notes

The Mavs have won three of their last four games...The Magic remain home to play Denver on Sunday.