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Mavericks keep Bobcats winless in Dallas

Dec 4, 2013 - 6:40 AM Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Dirk Nowitzki poured in 21 of his game- high 25 points in the second half, Monta Ellis added 22, and the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Charlotte Bobcats, 89-82, on Tuesday night.

Jose Calderon netted 12 and Vince Carter added 10 points off the bench for Dallas, which maintained its perfection at home against Charlotte with its 10th win in as many chances.

Al Jefferson scored 19 points with 12 rebounds, while Kemba Walker and Gerald Henderson tallied 16 points apiece in the setback.

Jefferson became the first Bobcat to record three straight double-doubles since Gerald Wallace Feb. 4-7, 2011.

"Our first and fourth quarters were very solid, our second and third quarters were very poor," said Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle. "We got lucky."

Ben Gordon hit a running jumper with 8:42 left in the fourth to give the Bobcats a 73-70 lead.

Nowitzki snapped a 3:04 scoring drought for both teams with a step back jump shot to pull within one. Jefferson made a jumper to get the lead back to three, but Nowitzki answered with two jumpers on successive possessions to give the Mavs their first lead since the second quarter, 76-75, with 4:26 left.

The game was tied, 78-78, when Josh McRoberts was called for a technical foul. Nowitzki hit the free throw and Ellis made a layup, followed by a jumper, to give the Mavs an 83-78 lead with 2:01 to play.

After more than a minute and a half of scoreless basketball, Nowitzki buried a deep two-point shot from the near corner with 27.9 ticks to play that proved to be the dagger for Charlotte.

"Nowitzki and Ellis took over the game," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. "And if we would run around a double team, they've got 3-point shooters all over."

Dallas led 22-18 after one quarter, but Charlotte used a 9-4 run in the final 3:01 of the second quarter to take a 42-39 advantage at halftime.

Charlotte opened up the second half on a 12-3 run capped when Henderson converted a three-point play to give the Bobcats a 54-42 lead with 9:01 to go in the third.

Dallas trimmed the deficit to 67-60 heading to the fourth quarter.

Charlotte lost more than just the game as Michael Kidd-Gilchrist left midway through the third quarter and the Bobcats confirmed that the second-year pro sustained a fracture in his left hand.

Kidd-Gilchrist finished with six points and three rebounds in just under 19 minutes of action.

Game Notes

Charlotte fell to 1-17 all-time against Dallas ... The Bobcats shot 3-of-17 (17.6 percent) from beyond the arc ... Nowitzki was 1-for-10 in the first half compared to 9-for-11 in the second stanza ... Charlotte outrebounded Dallas 50-45 ... Dallas opens a four-game road trip Wednesday against New Orleans ... Charlotte with host Philadelphia on Friday.