Surging Mavericks make it 12 in a row

Dirk Nowitzki’s aim was off in his first game back from suffering blurred vision, yet he was the only one misfiring for the Dallas Mavericks, who defeated the Sacramento Kings, 109-90, on Friday night at Dallas to extend their winning streak to 12.

The Mavericks haven’t lost since starting the season 0-4. The surge is the third-best in club history -- two shy of matching the franchise record -- and has taken them to the top of the Southwest Division. They’re closing in on Utah and Orlando (13-4) for the best record in the NBA.

Despite Nowitzki’s missing eight of his first nine shots, Dallas still led, 62-41, at halftime. Once he found a groove in the third quarter, the lead grew to 32. It was the fourth consecutive game the Mavericks haven’t trailed, and they won by their widest margin all season.

Washington 121, Charlotte 109 -- The Bobcats lost for the fourth time in their last five games and fell to an NBA-worst 4-12. The host Wizards took control with a 13-5 run to close the third quarter with a 99-88 lead. Antawn Jamison had eight points during the run, which was capped by Donell Taylor’s breakaway dunk with 0.1 of a second left in the period.

Detroit 108, New York 100 -- The Pistons, who won their eighth in a row, haven’t lost since a 100-99 home defeat to New Orleans dropped them to 3-5 on Nov. 15.

The Knicks, who have lost six of seven, held the Pistons scoreless for the first 5:29 of the fourth quarter. However, they scored only eight points down the stretch, and Tayshaun Prince put away the game with 11 points in the next four minutes.

Toronto 106, Boston 102 -- Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West missed three-point shots in the final seconds at Toronto. Chris Bosh, who has been slowed recently by a sore left knee, grabbed the rebound after West’s miss. He finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds.

Chicago 111, New Orleans 108 -- After the Hornets cut an 18-point deficit to four in the final minute at Oklahoma City, Andres Nocioni made two free throws with 13 seconds left. Then, after Ben Gordon made one of two free throws with 2.4 seconds left, Chris Paul’s half-court shot for the tie was after the buzzer as well as off-target.

Cleveland 106, Atlanta 95 -- LeBron James scored 13 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter at Atlanta to help the Cavaliers pull away from the Hawks. Joe Johnson scored 31 points for Atlanta, which fell behind by 10 points before the game was three minutes old and never led.

Denver 106, Minnesota 92 -- Carmelo Anthony scored 35 points for the Nuggets, who have won nine of 11 after starting the season 0-3. Anthony has scored at least 30 points in 11 of the last 12 games.

Kevin Garnett, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, reached double figures for the 337th consecutive game, the ninth-longest streak in league history.

Phoenix 122, Milwaukee 116 -- The Suns beat the Bucks at home for the 19th time in a row, matching the longest active streak of its kind in the NBA. Denver has lost 19 in a row at Sacramento. Milwaukee last won in Phoenix on Feb. 21, 1987.

In the final 2:49, Shawn Marion made eight consecutive free throws and blocked a driving layup by Michael Redd.

Orlando 91, Portland 89 -- Grant Hill scored off an inbounds pass with 1.5 seconds left to give the Magic the win at Portland, Ore. He came off a screen from Jameer Nelson, caught the pass from Hedo Turkoglu and scored.

Seattle 105, Indiana 103 -- Luke Ridnour drove through two defenders and made a high-arching, six-foot shot as the buzzer sounded to give the host SuperSonics the victory. Ridnour’s shot made up for missing two free throws with 19 seconds left and Seattle leading, 103-101.