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Nowitzki, Mavs top Raptors

Feb 25, 2015 - 4:37 AM Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points and nine rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Toronto Raptors 99-92 on Tuesday night.

Monta Ellis netted 20 points and Al-Farouq Aminu added 12 boards for the Mavericks, who have won three straight games.

"We slacked off after that a little bit, but youve got to give them credit they started making some shots and we had to dig deep to get this one," Nowitzki said.

DeMar DeRozan scored 18 points, Greivis Vasquez supplied 14 points and Patrick Patterson provided 12 points and seven boards for Toronto, which has dropped three consecutive contests on the heels of a four-game winning streak.

After Amir Johnson put through an alley-oop dunk to stake the Raptors to a 66-55 advantage midway through the third quarter, Dallas answered with a 10-2 run to get right back in it.

Richard Jefferson and Ellis jumpstarted the surge with 3-pointers and Ellis capped it with a driving layup to cut the deficit to 68-65.

Lou Williams split a pair of free throws after being fouled at the third quarter buzzer to give Toronto a 77-74 edge heading into the fourth.

Dallas seized control of the contest with an 11-1 swing during the middle stages of the fourth.

Aminu's turnaround jumper finished off the burst for a 97-85 Mavs margin with 4:29 left and they cruised to the finish line from there.

"Our fatigue turnovers got us.Turnovers were crucial, brutal, and led to baskets on the other end," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said of the second half.

Earlier, the Raptors led 29-25 following a quarter of play and 55-49 at the break.

Game Notes

Dallas has won nine of its last 12 games overall ... Toronto has lost three straight for just the second time this season ... The Mavericks scored 28 points off 19 Toronto turnovers ... Dallas was 8-of-19 from beyond the arc.