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Nowitzki, Mavs continue dominance over Bobcats

Mar 16, 2012 - 3:44 AM Dallas, TX (Sports Network) - Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 points, pulled down six rebounds and dished out five assists, helping the Dallas Mavericks remain perfect against the Charlotte Bobcats, 101-96.

Jason Terry added 18 points for the Mavericks, who improved to 15-0 all-time versus the Bobcats. Rodrigue Beaubois and Vince Carter donated 14 and 11 points, respectively.

The news was not all good for Dallas, which saw starting center Brendan Haywood hurt his right knee in the third quarter.

Corey Maggette ended with 21 points for Charlotte, which fell to an NBA-worst 6-36. Tyrus Thomas tallied 14 points and eight boards.

D.J. Augustin, Gerald Henderson and Kemba Walker had 12 points apiece for the Bobcats, who went 1-3 on a four-game road trip.

"I like what Kemba's doing. When he crosses over, he looks to take the shot, and that's what you should do," Charlotte head coach Paul Silas said. "You string the man out and then you look to pass the basketball. He's still learning."

Neither team led by more than six in a tight first quarter that ended in a 23-23 tie.

Trailing by two, 30-28, with 9:43 to go until half, the Bobcats went on a 20-4 run. Walker tallied 10 points during the surge, including a jumper with 4:29 left for a 48-34 lead.

Dallas scored the final seven points of the half to make it a 54-48 game at the break.

The Mavericks used a strong third stanza to take control. Nowitzki made back- to-back three-pointers to give the home team a 65-62 edge with 5:54 left.

Carter's three-pointer with 1:11 remaining gave Dallas a 74-68 margin heading to the fourth.

Nowitzki's trey near the midway mark of the fourth made it an 88-74 contest. Charlotte managed to make it a 96-91 contest with 39.2 seconds left, but the Mavericks went 5-of-6 from the foul line down the stretch.

"We wanted to start the game off better and we didn't do that again this game in the first half," Nowitzki said. "We didn't hit shots and the next thing you know it we are in a hole. We really need to focus on starting games off better. We did better in the 2nd half this game and we just need to continue to be more competitive throughout the whole game."

Game Notes

Charlotte has never even been able to score 100 points against the Mavericks...Haywood had six points before leaving...Dallas has won two in a row since a three-game skid.