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Surging Mavericks face high-scoring Warriors

Mar 13, 2009 - 6:14 AM By Matt Beardmore Stats Writer

Dallas (40-25) at Golden State (22-42), 10:30 p.m. EDT

OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Heading into its four-game western swing, Dallas had dropped five straight on the road and was hanging on to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Now, with a sizable lead over ninth-place Phoenix, the surging Mavericks are looking to move closer to earning home-court advantage in the first round.

Facing the slumping Golden State Warriors on Friday night should help them continue their push up the conference standings.

The Mavericks (40-25) are looking for their fourth straight victory after snapping Portland's 12-game home winning streak, 93-89 on Wednesday. Dirk Nowitzki posted his second straight double-double with 29 points and 10 rebounds as Dallas improved to 2-0 on its road trip.

"Dirk hit some tough ones," Portland guard Brandon Roy said. "He was just throwing them up and they were going in."

Nowitzki is a major reason the Mavericks have moved within one-half game of sixth place in the West and 1 1/2 games of third. The veteran power forward is averaging 30.1 points on 51.1 percent shooting in his last eight games after scoring just 12.3 during a 2-2 stretch from February 20-25.

Against the Warriors (22-42) on January 28, Nowitzki had 20 points as Dallas won for the fourth time in five games over Golden State, 117-93.

Jason Terry led the Mavericks with 22 points off the bench in that victory. Dallas' sixth man is fully healed from a fractured finger on his left hand that sidelined him for eight games in February. Terry is averaging 27.3 points in his last three contests.

"This is big for our confidence right now," he said after scoring 24 in Wednesday's victory. "People have been writing us off all year long, so we like where we're at right now. It really feels like it's a new season for us. The West is crazy right now."

Bay Area native Jason Kidd returns to Oracle Arena for the first time since nearly posting a triple-double with 13 points, 14 assists and nine boards in Dallas' 114-104 loss March 30, 2008. The former Cal star had 10 assists versus Portland on Wednesday to move within 99 of Magic Johnson (10,141) for third all-time.

While Dallas is looking to secure its ninth consecutive playoff berth, Golden State is trying to build momentum with a full roster.

The Warriors snapped a three-game slide Wednesday, defeating New Jersey 116-112 to open their four-game homestand. Stephen Jackson went 10-of-21 from the field and scored 29 while Monta Ellis had 19 and six assists in his first action since missing seven games due to a family emergency.

Golden State was 1-6 without the star guard.

"Monta is a great player and I am not surprised at anything," Jackson said. "He feels confident he can play against anybody, so when he plays well I'm not surprised."

Ellis, though, had just seven points on 2-of-11 shooting in the Jan. 28 loss in Dallas.

Andris Biedrins also returned Wednesday after missing two games due to a family issue and posted his 28th double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Golden State has won four of five at home against Dallas.