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Mavs battle Suns in the desert

Jan 30, 2012 - 3:39 PM (Sports Network) - Fresh off an exciting overtime win, the Dallas Mavericks will invade the desert tonight to take on a disappointing Phoenix Suns team.

The Mavs squandered an 18-point third-quarter lead, but Jason Terry scored four of his season-high 34 points in the extra frame to lead the reigning NBA champs to a 101-100 victory over Southwest Division rival San Antonio in Big D on Sunday.

Dirk Nowitzki returned to the lineup after missing the previous four games with a sore right knee and struggled offensively, scoring 10 points on 5-of-14 shooting. He did pull down a game-high 13 rebounds as Dallas won for the fifth time in six games. Vince Carter added 21 points as the Mavs took over first place in the Southwest.

"What a great game. It seemed like we'd play all night, but somehow we put this team away," said Terry. "These are the type of games that we have to win to be the basketball team we want to be. Early on in the season, we lost our fair share of close ball games and it looked like it was headed that way for a second there, but we stuck with it, we persevered and we got the [win]."

Mavericks starting point guard Jason Kidd did not play in the game and is expected to miss at least one week of action and possibly a little bit more with a strained right calf suffered against Utah last week.

The Suns, meanwhile, snapped a three-game skid on Saturday when Jared Dudley hit the deciding free throws with three seconds left, as Phoenix edged the Grizzlies, 86-84.

Dudley finished with 20 points and Steve Nash had 21, six assists and five rebounds for the Suns, who also put the brakes on a three-game home slide, their longest since a five-game hiccup from March 6-19, 2004. Marcin Gortat added 13 points and 12 rebounds.

"We knew they were gonna make a run," said Suns coach Alvin Gentry. "The last few plays I thought we just gutted it out and found a way to win the game."

Nash, however, was forced to limp off the court in the final seconds of that one after getting tangled up with Memphis' Marc Gasol. The former two-time MVP, who is just seven assists away from breaking Kevin Johnson's Suns franchise record of 6,518, is expected to be a game-time decision tonight.

Dallas has won seven straight over Phoenix, including a pair of meetings in North Texas this season.