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Mavs seek sixth straight win against Charlotte

Feb 11, 2014 - 3:12 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks look to extend their season-high winning streak to six games when they resume a three-game road trip Tuesday against the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Mavericks opened the trip with Sunday's 102-91 triumph against the Boston Celtics and have scored 100-plus points in each of the last eight games. They were led by Nowitzki's 20 points, a mark he has reached in his last seven games, posting an average of 27.0 ppg in that time.

Jose Calderon scored 18 points, Vince Carter had 14 and Devin Harris chipped in 12 for Dallas, which had a 28-18 advantage in the third quarter and held on in the final stanza to improve to 13-13 away from Big D.

Shawn Marion tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Samuel Dalembert grabbed 11 boards in a winning effort.

"We're working at being a more together team, which we've been the last few games," Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle said.

Carlisle's squad is a season-best 10 games over .500 (31-21) and has a 20-4 record this season when holding opponents under 100 points.

Dallas, which is averaging 104.6 ppg, is in the midst of playing six of seven games on the road with a home contest versus the Miami Heat in between. It will close the trip with a tough chore at Indiana on Wednesday.

The Bobcats will try to get back in the win column Tuesday and had won three of four games until Saturday's tough 104-100 loss to San Antonio.

Al Jefferson turned in another fine performance and finished with 26 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Jefferson has posted at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in eight of his last 11 games, and is averaging 26.8 points and 11.8 rebounds in the last 14.

Jefferson has scored 20-plus points in 13 of those 14 contests.

Gerald Henderson had 23 points, Kemba Walker added 18 and eight assists, and Ramon Sessions scored 10 points for Charlotte, which pulled within 99-95 on a Henderson basket with 36.5 seconds remaining. Henderson, though, had a costly turnover and the Spurs sealed the win from the foul line.

"I thought our effort and approach all day was good. We just didn't play to the level we needed to on defense," said Bobcats coach Steve Clifford.

There were 15 lead changes and 12 ties in the game.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds, including a career- high six offensive boards in the loss. The Bobcats, who were 5-0 when scoring 100 or more points at home, have played a league-high 24 games decided by six points or less, going 12-12 in that span.

Charlotte has 22 wins this season, surpassing its total of 21 from last season, and is 11-14 at home. While the Bobcats are scoring 94.5 ppg this season, they're allowing 97.1 ppg on defense -- the fourth-lowest average in the league.

The Bobcats will visit Brooklyn and Detroit after hosting Dallas, which posted an 89-82 win over Charlotte on Dec. 3 in Big D. Nowitzki scored 21 of his game-high 25 points in the second half in that one, while Jefferson scored 19 points to go with 12 rebounds.

Dallas is 7-1 all-time in Charlotte and 17-1 in this series. Charlotte has been held to under 100 points in 17 of the 18 meetings.