Dwight Howard leads Magic past Mavericks

Dwight Howard dominated inside with 17 points, 20 rebounds and five blocked shots, and his Orlando teammates converted 14 of 24 attempts from 3-point range as the Magic atoned for an earlier loss to Dallas with a 97-82 victory over the Mavericks on Thursday night.

Reserve Mickael Pietrus had 24 points, making all six of his 3-point attempts, and Vince Carter added 19 points to help the Magic win for the 14th time in 16 games.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points for the Mavericks, whose three-game winning streak ended. Jason Terry and J.J. Barea had 16 points apiece for Dallas.

Denver 109, Portland 92: Carmelo Anthony scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Nuggets rebound from a tough week to beat the Trail Blazers. Nene added 22 points and Chauncey Billups 21 for the Nuggets, who won for only the second time in a seven-game stretch that saw them drop from second to fifth in the Western Conference playoff race.

— Associated Press