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Elton Brand had 19 points and Eric Piatkowski added 16 as the visiting Clippers held off a late Dallas rally for a 101-99 preseason victory over the Mavericks.

Quentin Richardson had 15 points off the bench and Lamar Odom contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who improved to 3-2 in exhibitions.

Dirk Nowitzki’s 21 points and Michael Finley’s 18 paced the Mavericks, 3-3 in the preseason.

The Clippers opened the third quarter with a 13-0 run capped by Odom’s three-point basket for a 63-52 lead.

The Clippers held a 31-18 third-quarter edge and carried an 81-70 lead into the fourth quarter.

Dallas narrowed the deficit to 99-96 with 1:39 left on Nowitzki’s 3-pointer, but Keyon Dooling’s 15-foot jumper with 1:00 left extended the Clippers’ lead to 101-96.

Nowitzki’s three-pointer with 35 seconds left pulled Dallas within 101-99. Dallas had two shots at tying the game over the final 10 seconds, but Finley failed to connect on a shot in the lane and Steve Nash missed an 18-footer at the buzzer.

The Clippers have only two more exhibitions before they open the regular season in San Antonio on Oct. 30. They play the Orlando Magic in Tampa on Sunday, then return to Staples Center to face Phoenix on Tuesday night.