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Mavericks shoot well, blow past Bulls

Dec 29, 2013 - 6:25 AM Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Monta Ellis had 22 points, Dirk Nowitzki and Vince Carter scored 18 apiece and the Dallas Mavericks rolled to a 105-83 win over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.

Nowitzki made all four of his 3-pointers and the Mavericks were 13-for-26 as a team while shooting better than 52 percent overall. They won for the second time in their last five games.

"They made a couple of runs but we were able to sustain and come out with a good victory," said Shawn Marion, who had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Mavs.

Joakim Noah had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who had a two-game winning streak snapped -- their only back-to-back wins since losing Derrick Rose to another knee injury on Nov. 22.

Bulls leading scorer Luol Deng (Achilles) missed his fourth straight game.

The Mavericks outscored the Bulls 61-34 in the first half.

Chicago led 17-15 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter but Dallas used an extended 24-4 run spanning the first two frames to take control of the game.

Carter and Ellis scored six apiece in the surge, Nowitzki had a four-point play and Shane Larkin's 3-pointer made it 39-21 about three minutes into the second quarter.

"They are a terrific offensive team," said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, "so if they get their confidence early, you're in for a tough night."

Dallas' lead reached 29 twice near the end of the half, the first time on a Nowitzki jumper. Carter led all players with 14 points in the half, hitting four of his five shots, including a trio of 3s.

Already in control, the Mavs got hot in the third quarter, shooting almost 69 percent and pushing their lead as high as 32. It was 86-56 going into the fourth and the Bulls never got closer than 14 the rest of the way.

Game Notes

Chicago had won four of its last five against Dallas ... Both teams play on the road Monday. The Mavericks will face Minnesota and the Bulls will play Memphis.