Mavericks rally, win their 15th in a row

The Dallas Mavericks needed big games from Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard and Jason Terry to pull out a club-record 15th consecutive victory Saturday night at Dallas.

Terry had 29 points and the Mavericks extended their team-record home winning streak to 22 games with a 103-98 victory over the Orlando Magic.

Terry also had a season-high 15 assists.

Nowitzki contributed 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Howard added 21 points to help the Mavericks overcome a six-point fourth-quarter deficit.

“This was one of the toughest of the year,” Terry said. “Our energy wasn’t where it needed to be, but in the fourth quarter, we came alive. It didn’t look like we’d pull this off, but everybody dug deep.”

Dallas has won 50 of 55 after losing its first four, moving to a league-best 50-9 record. The Mavericks, who became the sixth-fastest team to 50 wins in NBA history, haven’t been beaten at home since a 92-83 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 7.

“Having a record is always great,” Nowitzki said. “It means you’ve done something that’s never been done before.

“But we’re not focused on the streaks. If we go 82-0, it doesn’t mean anything if we don’t win the championship. We know we have a lot of work to do until then.”

Dwight Howard had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Hedo Turkoglu added 19 points and Jameer Nelson had 17 points for Orlando.

The Magic would not go quietly, but it lost for the seventh time in eight games.

“There are no moral victories in the NBA,” Magic Coach Brian Hill said. “But as I told the team, I’m very proud of the way they played tonight. They played hard, we executed, we followed our game plan, tried to get the ball out of Nowitzki’s hands a lot.”

Nowitzki missed a free throw in the second quarter, breaking a streak of 42 consecutive conversions.

San Antonio 97, Houston 74 -- Tim Duncan scored 26 points and the Spurs defeated the Rockets at Houston for their season-high eighth consecutive victory.

Tracy McGrady had 21 points, all in the first half for the Rockets, who lost for the fifth time in eight games.

Sacramento 104, Portland 96 -- Kevin Martin scored 15 of his 33 points in the first quarter at Portland, Ore., and the Kings won their third in a row.

Zach Randolph had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who never led and committed 18 turnovers. The Kings were 21 for 22 from the free-throw line.

Cleveland 120, Toronto 97 -- LeBron James kept up his midseason scoring surge with 36 points and Larry Hughes added 27, leading the Cavaliers at Cleveland.

New York 104, Atlanta 100 -- Stephon Marbury scored 11 of his 38 points in overtime and the Knicks made up a late 15-point deficit at Atlanta to hand the Hawks their fifth consecutive loss.

Detroit 92, Memphis 89 -- Chauncey Billups had 19 points and nine assists at Memphis, Tenn., and the Pistons handed the Grizzlies their seventh loss in eight games.

Boston 96, New Jersey 88 -- Al Jefferson scored a career-high 32 points and added 18 rebounds at East Rutherford, N.J., in helping the Celtics rally from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit and post their third consecutive victory.