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Mavericks seek fifth straight victory

Mar 16, 2008 - 1:29 PM Dallas (43-23) at Miami (11-53) 6:00 pm EDT

MIAMI (Ticker) - Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks aim for their fifth straight victory when they face the lowly Miami Heat on Sunday.

Nowitzki scored 22 points as the Mavericks cruised to a 116-97 rout of the Indiana Pacers on Friday. In its winning streak - all against Eastern Conference teams with losing records - the Mavericks have averaged a double-digit victory margin.

Dallas, which is fourth in fourth place in the competitive Southwest Division, now gets to face the NBA's worst team.

The Heat endured their seventh straight loss Friday, a 103-94 setback to the Orlando Magic.

Miami, which didn't play with the recently acquired Shawn Marion (back), hopes to have the four-time All-Star back in the lineup for this contest.