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Howard, Nowitzki help Mavericks crush Lakers

Jan 19, 2007 - 7:29 AM DALLAS (Ticker) -- This time around, Josh Howard and Dirk Nowitzki did not want to see a repeat performance.

Howard collected 29 points and 11 rebounds and Nowitzki added 27 and 10 as the Dallas Mavericks posted an easy 114-95 triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Devean George scored 14 points and Jason Terry chipped in 12 and a season-high 13 assists for the Mavericks, who have won six consecutive games and 12 straight at home.

"I thought everybody did a solid job," Terry said. "Guys were knocking down shots. I thought we were aggressive all night long."

George - a former Laker - got the start in place of third-year guard Devin Harris, who was sideline with the flu.

On January 7, Kobe Bryant's 26 points helped the Lakers put an end to the Mavericks' season-high 13-game winning streak with a 101-98 victory at Staples Center. It remains their lone defeat this month.

Anthony Johnson scored six of Dallas' final 10 points in the second quarter, including a running jumper with four seconds left to carry a 60-48 lead into intermission.

"Anthony came in and gave us some good energy, good minutes," Terry said.

The Mavericks created more distance in the third period as Nowitzki netted nine points during an 11-3 surge to extend the lead to 79-57 with 5:43 remaining.

"I thought the defense was really good. The fast break was really good for us," Nowitzki said. "We got stops and got rebounds. We were really scrambling. We were just active on defense more than anything. That puts you in the open court and we got great looks. Once we defend and run, we're a pretty tough team to beat."

Dallas shot 63 percent (14-of-22) from the floor in the third quarter en route to outscoring Los Angeles, 35-24.

The Mavericks had a 52-44 edge in points in the paint and outrebounded the Lakers, 53-28.

"Anytime you get beat up that bad on the inside like we did you're not going to have that much of a chance performing," Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson said.

"We always work on boxing out, playing the passing lanes, just doing the things that we do as a team," Howard said. "It carries over to the game. Basically, we just followed the game plan."

Bryant scored 26 points and rookie Jordan Farmar poured in a season-best 17 off the bench for Los Angeles, which had its three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 8-10 on the road.

"I'm disappointed we didn't give ourselves a chance to win the game," Bryant said. "This is the type of team that you just want to hang in there a little bit and give yourself an opportunity down the stretch."

"Dallas is one of the best teams in the league and they're tough on their home floor and they played well," Farmar said. "What's disheartening is that they outhustled us a little bit and wanted it more."