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Nowitzki and Dallas slip by Golden State

Apr 13, 2012 - 6:34 AM Oakland, CA (Sports Network) - Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 points and Jason Terry led a solid bench effort with 16, as Dallas downed Golden State, 112-103.

Brandan Wright matched Terry with 16 points, Vince Carter chipped in with 12 and Rodrigue Beaubois donated 11 for Dallas, which has won its past two. The Mavericks bench scored 57 of their 112 points, and the visitors shot 50 percent overall on the game.

"We can't really slip up at this time of year," Wright said.

David Lee led all scorers with 30 points to go along with eight rebounds and Klay Thompson added 24 points with eight assists and seven rebounds for Golden State, which has dropped three straight contests.

The two teams jockeyed for position in the first quarter with Lee's putback tying the game at 13-13. Dallas jumped out to a seven-point lead by the end of the period thanks to six successive points to end the quarter. Nowitzki's three with just over one second left made the score 27-20.

The margin quickly reached double figures, ascending to 40-26 after two buckets from Carter and Beaubois' three with just under 8 1/2 minutes to go in the half. Three straight Nowitzki free throws opened a 50-33 margin, and his step-back jumper created a 60-41 gap, Dallas' largest lead of the night.

Dallas held a 63-49 lead at the half, but Golden State shot its way back into the contest thanks to Lee and Thompson, who buried three treys in the final four minutes and scored 13 points in the period. His first triple brought the home team within 78-67, and by the time he connected on his third trey of the period the Warriors were within 87-79.

Despite Thompson's shooting, the Mavericks still took a double-digit lead, 89-79, into the fourth, but it was short-lived. Nate Robinson brought the energy with five quick points and Brandon Rush's driving slam cut the deficit to 89-86 with a little more 10 minutes to go. Nowitzki's bucket, Dallas' first over 2 1/2 minutes into the period, extended the lead to five, and Terry's trey moments later made the score 96-88.

The Mavericks regained their footing and Nowitzki's jumper opened a 103-92 lead with just under six minutes to play. Dallas never felt threatened the rest of the way.

"The way we played in the second half was what we expect closing out this season," said Warriors head coach Mark Jackson. "We battled, gave ourselves a chance. We had some breakdowns, but the energy and effort was certainly there."

Game Notes

Dallas has won seven of the last nine against Golden State...The Mavericks are on a four-game road trip that will take them to Portland, to Los Angeles to face the Lakers and to Utah. Dallas has a 12-16 mark away from home this season...Robinson added 10 points in the loss.