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Mavericks mosey into Oklahoma City

Dec 27, 2010 - 4:07 PM (Sports Network) - The sizzling Dallas Mavericks look to close out a perfect three-game road trip tonight, when they pay a visit to Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Dallas has won seven in a row away from Big D and the first two bouts of this current trek, including Tuesday's 105-99 triumph at Orlando behind 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists from superstar Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki passed Celtics legend Larry Bird for 25th on the NBA's all-time scoring list (21,798) and is now only 15 points away from matching Gary Payton for 24th.

Caron Butler ended with 20 points, Tyson Chandler posted 16 and Jason Kidd contributed 13 points and 12 assists for the Mavericks, who have won four straight overall and 16 of 17 contests. DeShawn Stevenson notched 11 points, and for the first time this season all five starters (Butler, Nowitzki, Chandler, Stevenson and Kidd) scored in double figures.

"We feel like we're one of the best teams in the league," Butler said. "We just want to capitalize on every opportunity."

The Mavs are 10-1 as the guest this season and got 13 points and five assists from Jason Terry off the bench.

Oklahoma City has alternated wins and losses over its last four games since a five-game winning streak and will resume a four-game homestand Monday night.

In a 114-106 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Christmas Day, Durant scored 21 of his season-high 44 points in the third quarter and James Harden recorded 21 points off the bench for the Thunder, who got 19 points from Russell Westbrook and improved to 11-5 in the OKC.

"We didn't force anything," said Durant, who finished three points shy of a career-high and went 14-of-20 from the field. "They started to double a little bit in the fourth and I just tried to make the right basketball play. Guys were kicking the basketball and we were getting open shots. I think we did a great job of closing the paint up."

The Thunder took advantage of a Carmelo Anthony-less Nuggets squad and will also host New Jersey and Atlanta on the residency. The Durant-Westbrook tandem is currently the highest scoring duo in the NBA, averaging 50.8 ppg.

Dallas beat the Thunder, 111-103, on Nov. 24 this season on the road and is 22-6 in the past 28 meetings in the series. The Mavericks have won 10 of the previous 14 road bouts.