Nowitzki Rescues Mavericks Again

The way the Dallas Mavericks played their first 24 games, even they were starting to think little could go wrong. The last three games have provided a reality check.

Dirk Nowitzki bailed Dallas out of another bad shooting game, scoring 10 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks defeated the Washington Wizards, 92-86, Monday night at Dallas.

“We all know what’s going on -- we’ve been lackadaisical, fooling ourselves a little bit,” said reserve Walt Williams. “Everyone expects us to score 100 every night. But if we want to be an elite team, we’ve got to learn to grind it out like this.”

The Mavericks were averaging more than 106 points a game until scoring 80 in a victory at Denver, then 81 against Utah in their first home loss.

After Jerry Stackhouse’s three-point basket pulled Washington to within one with 5 minutes 57 seconds remaining, Nowitzki answered by making a jump shot as the shot clock expired, then put back a rebound to make it 84-79. The Wizards wouldn’t get any closer again.

Michael Jordan had 13 points for the Wizards, but made only five of 15 shots from the field.

“It’s not as pretty as it was earlier, but we’re still finding ways to win,” said Dallas’ Nick Van Exel, who made up for a one-of-seven shooting performance with eight rebounds and six assists.

San Antonio 99, New Orleans 94 -- Tim Duncan scored 29 points and tied a career high with 23 rebounds to help the Spurs win in overtime at San Antonio. Bruce Bowen tied a career high with 21 points for the Spurs, who have won four in a row. New Orleans, which rallied from a 16-point second-quarter deficit, made only two of 11 from the field in overtime and didn’t score in the final 3:15 of the extra period.

Phoenix 89, Seattle 88 -- Stephon Marbury, who made two of his first 11 field goals, made a leaning 13-foot shot with a half-second remaining for the decisive points to lead the Suns at Phoenix. After a timeout, the SuperSonics had a chance to win. Brent Barry threw an inbounds lob from half court to the basket for Desmond Mason, but Shawn Marion blocked the shot as time expired.

Milwaukee 108, Orlando 103 -- Ray Allen had 35 points, including a three-point basket with 1:16 remaining, as the Bucks took advantage of Tracy McGrady’s absence to win at Orlando, Fla.

Every time Orlando threatened down the stretch, Allen responded. Two free throws by Orlando’s Mike Miller cut the Milwaukee lead to 97-95 with 1:44 remaining, but Allen made a three-point basket 28 seconds later. Orlando’s Shawn Kemp made two free throws after that, but Allen followed with an off-balance shot to put the Bucks up, 102-97, with 47.3 seconds remaining.

Indiana 112, Atlanta 97 -- Al Harrington scored a career-high 40 points, Brad Miller had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Ron Artest had 24 points to lead the Pacers at Indianapolis. Jamaal Tinsley had 14 assists for the Pacers, who improved to 13-1 at home.

Utah 96, Houston 91 -- Karl Malone scored 10 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter -- including six in the last 1:30 -- to help the Jazz rally from a seven-point deficit to win at Houston. Matt Harpring had eight of his 25 points in the fourth quarter as the Jazz won its third consecutive game. Steve Francis had 26 points and Yao Ming had 18 points and seven rebounds for Houston.

Cleveland 74, Miami 72 -- Cleveland rookie Smush Parker’s three-point play keyed an 11-2 game-ending spurt and Miami’s Eddie Jones missed a driving layup with 4.5 seconds remaining as the Cavaliers won at Cleveland. Ricky Davis scored 33 points to lead the Cavaliers, who snapped a four-game losing skid.

New Jersey 99, Chicago 83 -- Lucious Harris scored nine of his 20 points during the game-breaking third quarter to help the Nets win their 10th in a row at East Rutherford, N.J.