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Nowitzki paces Mavs past Pelicans

Jan 12, 2014 - 5:33 AM Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Dirk Nowitzki scored 40 points and the Dallas Mavericks beat the New Orleans Pelicans by a 110-107 margin to complete a home-and-home sweep.

Monta Ellis added 26 points for the Mavericks, who defeated these Pelicans by a 107-90 score on Friday. Jose Calderon tallied 17 points.

Anthony Davis ended with 28 points and 14 rebounds for New Orleans, which has lost five in a row. Eric Gordon added 20 points and Al-Farouq Aminu finished with 15 points and 11 boards.

Trailing 99-97 with 4:10 to play, Dallas went on a 9-0 run. Vince Carter made a layup and Ellis was good on two free throws to give the home team a two- point edge. After Jason Smith turned the ball over, Nowitzki was fouled on a shot from beyond the arc. The German connected on all three free throws and Ellis added a layup following another New Orleans turnover.

Davis made five of six free throws to get the Pelicans within two at 106-104 with 18.1 seconds left.

Nowitzki responded with two foul shots for a four-point Dallas lead. Darius Miller hit his fourth 3-pointer of the second half to get New Orleans within one, but Calderon hit two free throws for Dallas with nine seconds to go.

Austin Rivers tried to get off a 3-pointer at the buzzer but was tied up by Ellis. The refs did not call a foul.

"That's just too bad. That's just not right," New Orleans coach Monty Williams said. "If we stopped it with .5 on the clock, and Monta Ellis' arm is across Austin's - both of his arms for a three-point shot. It's hard to swallow that kind of no-call in a game like that, especially when Dirk [Nowitzki] gets the same call on the right side in the first half. That's a tough one."

The Pelicans held a 22-17 lead after the first quarter, but Dallas took a 42-37 edge into the locker room.

With the score tied at 42 early in the third stanza, the Mavericks put together a 15-4 run. Nowitzki tallied eight points during the surge, including a 3-pointer with 8:25 left to make it 57-46.

Nowitzki tallied 20 points in the third period and the Mavericks took an 84-77 lead into the fourth.

"He's a great one. He knew that we need a lift," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said of Nowitzki.

Miller made a pair of 3-pointers to give New Orleans a 91-90 lead with 7:48 to play.

Game Notes

Dallas has won six straight against New Orleans ... Mavericks rookie guard Shane Larkin left the game with a sprained right ankle ... Dallas forward Shawn Marion missed his third straight game with a shoulder injury ... Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans was held out due to a sore ankle ... Dallas went 39-of-45 from the foul line.