Mavericks Give Pistons First Loss

The Dallas Mavericks set a season high for points, but their work on defense was a major factor in ending the Detroit Pistons’ bid to remain the NBA’s only unbeaten team.

Josh Howard scored 26 points and Dirk Nowitzki had 23, and the Mavericks took a 26-point first-quarter lead on the way to defeating the Pistons, 119-82, Saturday night at Dallas.

“We concentrated more on the defensive end and rebounding the ball,” Howard said after the Mavericks held the Pistons to 41% shooting from the field. “We wanted to make sure they got one shot and that was it.”

Dallas got off to a quick start with its highest scoring quarter this season. The Mavericks made 17 of their first 21 shots (81%) to build a 40-16 lead after the first quarter.

“We felt if we came out and gave it all we had for the first two or three quarters, we could get out to a lead,” guard Jason Terry said. “It definitely came down to us having more energy than they did.”

The Pistons were five for 19 from the field in their lowest-scoring first quarter this season.

“We had some pretty good individual performances, but defensively we really competed against a championship-caliber team,” Coach Avery Johnson said.

The Pistons started the season with eight victories to match the second-best start in franchise history, trailing only the 9-0 mark set in 1970-71.

Cleveland 123, Philadelphia 120 -- LeBron James had 36 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his first triple-double this season, rallying the Cavaliers at Philadelphia.

Larry Hughes scored a season-high 37 points, including five three-point baskets, for the Cavaliers, who won their seventh game in a row. Allen Iverson led Philadelphia with 37 points.

San Antonio 97, Phoenix 91 -- Tony Parker made a soft runner in the lane over Steve Nash with 35 seconds to go and the Spurs held on at San Antonio.

Parker forced Nash to take an errant shot on the next possession, then made two free throws to seal the win. He finished with 19 points and teammate Tim Duncan had 24 points and 13 rebounds for his league-leading eight double-double.

Memphis 80, Utah 72 -- Damon Stoudamire scored 14 points at Salt Lake City, including a game-closing five in a row, and the Grizzlies won their fourth in a row.

After the Jazz cut the lead to 75-72 with 1:10 to play, Stoudamire made a three-pointer and then made two free throws with 37.6 seconds left to lift Memphis (7-3) to its best start.

New Jersey 89, Washington 83 -- Vince Carter scored 19 points and Richard Jefferson had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the host Nets, who defeated the Wizards for the 15th time in the last 18 meetings.

Washington’s Gilbert Arenas, the NBA’s third-leading scorer at 27.8 points a game, was held to 17 points before fouling out in the closing seconds.

New Orleans 98, Orlando 95 -- David West scored a career-high 34 points and Chris Paul had 21 to lead the Hornets at Orlando, Fla.

Dwight Howard had 16 points and 17 rebounds for the Magic for his seventh consecutive double-double.

Minnesota 102, Charlotte 89 -- Kevin Garnett had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and the Timberwolves overcame a slow start at Minneapolis to win their second in a row.

After struggling through the first 2 1/2 quarters, Minnesota began to pull away midway through the third with a 10-2 run to take a 14-point lead.