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Mavericks edge Grizzlies in home-and-home finale

Nov 19, 2006 - 5:21 AM DALLAS (Ticker) -- The Dallas Mavericks didn't let the break between the third and fourth quarters stop their run.

Dirk Nowitzki collected 24 points and 13 rebounds and Jason Terry added 19 as the Mavericks posted their fifth straight victory with an 89-84 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, who have lost seven straight games.

Devin Harris had 12 points and Anthony Johnson handed out nine assists for Dallas (5-4), which moved above the .500 mark for the first time this season by defeating Memphis for the ninth time in a row.

"We'll take it," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said about the team obtaining a winning record. "With an 0-4 start? Are you kidding me? Sometimes when you are losing, it gets pretty lonely. ... Food doesn't taste good ... a lot of things don't taste good."

The Mavericks trailed, 66-58, with 50 seconds left in the third period before a 3-pointer by Terry, who finished with five. Greg Buckner followed with another shot from the arc 39 ticks later to cut the deficit to 66-64.

Austin Croshere opened the fourth with a 3-pointer and connected again from the arc just 90 seconds into the frame, capping a 12-0 burst for a 70-66 lead.

The Mavericks continued to hold the Grizzlies at bay down the stretch en route to sweeping the home-and-home set. Dallas won, 115-103, on Friday.

"Well, it's different this year without their main threat in (Pau) Gasol so we're just trying to beat whoever they put in front of us and it so happens to be Memphis two nights in a row," Terry said.

Rookie Rudy Gay scored 23 points and Chucky Atkins added 17 for Memphis.

"We're getting closer and closer and we need to learn how to finish out games," Gay said. "We had them up most of the game, you know we played them tough. We just got to know how to finish."

Hakim Warrick followed a career-high 26 points Friday with six points on 1-of-13 shooting from the floor. Stromile Swift had just three after contributing 21 in the previous contest.

"Hakim Warrick and Stromile Swift, they were aggressive last night but tonight we forced them to catch the ball out a little bit wider," Anthony Johnson said. "Our bigs did a good job of containing them and making things tougher for them. You know, overall defensively, we played a very sound ballgame."