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Strong second half propels Mavs past Clippers

Apr 9, 2011 - 4:16 AM Dallas, TX (Sports Network) - Dirk Nowitzki scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half and Dallas continued its domination of the Los Angeles Clippers with a 107-96 victory at American Airlines Center.

Corey Brewer also had 20 points, while J.J. Barea and Tyson Chandler each scored 15 for the Mavericks, who remained a game ahead of Oklahoma City for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with three contests remaining for each team.

Shawn Marion ended with 13 points and 10 rebounds for Dallas, which overcame a 16-point deficit and snapped a four-game skid. The Mavs shot 59.5 percent from the field in the second half, including a 12-of-19 clip in the fourth quarter.

"It's really big for us. We've been going through a losing stretch - and it's tough when you're losing - but it was good to get a win tonight with the fans behind us," Brewer said.

Dallas beat the Clippers for the 10th straight time, but Jason Terry was held out of playing the second half by head coach Rick Carlisle.

"It is an internal matter. This is an emotional game, and it's a very compelling game, because in our league, guys don't wear baseball hats, and fans aren't seated 30 yards from the field, guys aren't wearing helmets or facemasks," Carlisle said. "Emotions run high and things happen. I'm going to leave it at that. He's an important guy to our team. I was considering giving him a nice night off going forward, but I think tonight will be his night off."

Mo Williams had 29 points, while Blake Griffin contributed 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Clippers. Eric Gordon had 11 points in LA's second straight loss.

The Clippers had 22 turnovers, leading to 28 Dallas points.

"The obvious thing is to take care of the ball better, slow down a little bit, not try to force things, not try make it all on one play, just trying to get a solid look, a good basketball play," Griffin said. "For us, I think that's the main thing."

Randy Foye's three-pointer had the Clippers within 89-88 with 7:22 remaining in the game. DeShawn Stevenson then buried a three to start a 9-0 Dallas spurt, which Nowitzki ended on a step-back jumper with 3:24 left. The Mavs coasted to the end.

Griffin and Williams each had 11 first-quarter points, and the Clippers shot 15-of-23 in the period, on the way to a 35-19 lead after 12 minutes.

There was a reversal in the second as Los Angeles had just five field goals. Despite this, the Mavs still trailed 54-47 at the half.

The big momentum changer came in the third as Dallas scored 14 in a row. Griffin's hook shot had extended LA's lead to 56-49, but then came Dallas' big run, which was helped by the Clippers missing four three-point shots and committing three turnovers.

Nowitzki's jumper gave Dallas its first lead at 57-56 and Brewer's reverse layup finished the burst for a 63-56 difference inside six minutes to go.

"We knew the Mavs were going to come out in the third quarter and they jumped on us early," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We didn't control the tempo of the game very well. I thought we took some quick shots, didn't make them work, then they got on a little bit of a run there where they were getting layups after layups or easy shots. We had way too many turnovers from every position."

The Clippers, though, came back from a 12-point deficit later in the quarter, tying the game at 75 on Williams' three-point play in the waning seconds. Chandler's tip-in provided Dallas the lead going to the fourth.

Game Notes

The Clippers are 3-19 in their last 22 contests against the Mavericks, last winning a season series in 2004-05, when they won the series 2-1...Nowitzki also had eight rebounds and a season-best seven assists...The Mavs have won 16 of 17 overall against the Clips, including all four meetings this season. Dallas has also won nine straight and 22 of 25 over the Clippers in north Texas.