Nets 93 - 92 Mavericks
Final
  for this game

Lopez leads Nets past Mavericks

Feb 29, 2012 - 6:58 AM Dallas, TX (Sports Network) - Brook Lopez scored a season-high 38 points and made the eventual game-winning free throw on Tuesday, leading the Nets to a 93-92 victory over the Mavericks.

Jason Kidd's three-pointer gave Dallas a 92-91 lead with 48 seconds left, but Lopez, in just his third game back from a broken foot, drew a foul and made the tying and go-ahead free throws with 42 seconds to play.

Kidd missed two three-pointers the rest of the way, as the Mavericks fell for the third time in four games. Dirk Nowitzki had a team-high 24 points in the loss.

Anthony Morrow scored 15 points for the Nets, who had lost 12 of 15 coming in. Deron Williams added 12 points and 12 assists and Kris Humphries had 10 points and 15 rebounds.

"He carried us from the start of the game," Williams said of Lopez. "I've said it all season, once we get him back we become a different team and you saw that a lot tonight."

The Mavericks didn't take their first lead until late in the third quarter, when Jason Terry knocked down a three-pointer to make it 71-69.

The Nets, though, held a 79-76 advantage after three and were on top 89-79 with 5:22 to play after opening the fourth with a 10-3 run.

Dallas responded, scoring eight straight to pull within two, 89-87, on Shawn Marion's offensive rebound and bank shot with two minutes remaining.

Morrow responded on the other end with a 16-footer, but Terry countered with a driving layup and Kidd knocked down a three-pointer off a Humphries' turnover for a 92-91 lead.

Lopez then drew a foul on Brendan Haywood and gave New Jersey the decisive lead from the line.

Kidd had two chances to put Dallas on top.

First, he was short on an open three-pointer off a Nowitzki feed.

Terry then stole the ball from Morrow with 17 seconds left. After a Mavericks timeout, Nowitzki was isolated near the foul line, but again chose to go to Kidd, who was off on a desperation heave as the buzzer sounded.

"I was trying to keep the last shot so we could run the clock down and then [DeShawn Stevenson] got his hands on that pump fake," said Kidd. "Once I lost the basket I just had to heave one up."

Despite the close finish, the Nets were in control for most of the game.

They were up 28-23 after one and 56-45 at the break.

Humphries opened the third with a bucket, stretching the advantage to 13, but the Mavericks responded with a 15-2 game-tying run.

Nowitzki made a pair of three-pointers during the surge and Haywood had seven points, including a transition layup which knotted the score at 60.

Game Notes

The Mavericks had won five straight against the Nets...Haywood had 18 points and 10 rebounds...Dallas shot just 5-for-21 in the fourth quarter...New Jersey signed forward Gerald Green to a 10-day contract on Monday. A first-round draft pick of the Boston Celtics in 2005, Green was averaging 19.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA's D-League.






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