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Terry helps Mavericks cruise past Warriors

Jan 29, 2009 - 5:47 AM By John Tranchina PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

DALLAS (Ticker) -- After getting stung by blowout losses in two of their previous three contests, the Dallas Mavericks turned the tables.

Jason Terry scored 22 points off the bench and Dirk Nowitzki knocked down 20 to lead the Mavericks to a 117-93 rout over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.

Josh Howard added 19 points for the Mavericks, who returned to Texas after a 2-2 road trip and improved to 7-1 in their last eight home games.

"We were able to step it up, play aggressive and knock down shots," said Howard, who played just four minutes in the fourth quarter. "Overall defense requires a lot of communication and we haven't been doing a good job of that lately, but we have some good spurts."

"We hung in and chipped away and we were able to capitalize when we were able to get stops," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle added. "And as the game went on, we were able to keep in front of them a little bit better."

On the road after going 4-3 in a two-week homestand, Golden State was led by Stephen Jackson's 25 points - including 14 in the first quarter - and by 21 from reserve Corey Maggette.

"We were not very good tonight," said Warriors coach Don Nelson, the former Dallas coach and general manager. "I was disappointed with our play, but so be it. They had their way with us and they deserved to win. They were the better team tonight."

"I think our biggest problem was effort," Jackson added. "We haven't had a TV game in a long time and for us to come out and not play to the level we should have played is upsetting. I just wish we would have gone down fighting. We didn't match their intensity."

The Mavericks dominated the second quarter, outscoring Golden State by a 38-22 margin to transform a tight game into a 22-point blowout by halftime. Dallas, which suffered a 124-100 loss in Boston on Sunday, never looked back.

"We've been two teams," said Mavs guard Jason Kidd, who had three points with nine assists and seven rebounds. "We've got to be consistent and we're fighting to do that. We've had some no-shows. If we want to make the playoffs, we have to play every night."

With the game tied at 8-8 about four minutes in, Golden State used a 11-4 run to open a seven-point lead on Jamal Crawford's three-pointer with 6:11 left in the first quarter.

Dallas battled back with a 19-4 burst to go ahead, 31-23, on Jason Terry's lay-up with 16.8 seconds left in the quarter.

"After the early deficit, we were able to string stops and scores together," Carlisle said. "I really liked the way we pushed the ball and kept turnovers reasonable and just able to keep building on the lead."

After the Warriors pulled back to within one four minutes into the second quarter, Dallas reeled off a 24-5 run to open up a commanding 61-41 lead when Nowitzki knocked home a 20-foot jump shot with 2:12 left in the period.

"They got a whole bunch of open looks," Jackson said of Golden State's disastrous second quarter. "We had a lot of defensive errors and we didn't stay with our game plan. We've got to man-up and guard our guys and we didn't do that tonight at all."

Dallas continued to overwhelm the Warriors throughout the third quarter, as Golden State got no closer than 18 points.

"Defensively, we were sharp," Nowitzki said. "They shot 35 percent for most of the night before they made some shots at the end. Any time you can hold a great offensive team with a lot of shooters like they have, your defense is doing a good job. Defense won the game today."

"We didn't get anything going," Nelson said. "Everything was a struggle for us tonight. And you can credit their defense if you want, but I would think it's our lack of movement and execution and a whole bunch of other things."

The Mavericks carried a 92-70 advantage into the fourth and, utilizing mostly reserves, continued to build on their lead in the final period.

Dallas used a 10-0 run to go up by 30 when James Singleton, who scored 12 of his season-high 14 points in the fourth quarter, sank a 3-pointer with 6:50 remaining.