|
PHOENIX, Arizona: Dirk Nowitzki had 32 points and 12
rebounds and Josh Howard added 24 and nine as Dallas dominated
Phoenix in the fourth quarter en route to a 105-98 win Sunday.
Reserve Brandon Bass provided all
the offense off the bench with 19 points for Dallas, which finished
the game on a 27-7 run.
Criticized for their
inability to close out games, the Mavericks engineered a remarkable
fourth-quarter turnaround fuelled by tough defense at the Phoenix
arena.
“We took the ball to the
basket, unlike the third quarter. We moved the ball on offense,
unlike the third quarter, and it all clicked for us,” Dallas coach
Avery Johnson said.
“We haven’t been able to win
these types of games, so it was good that it finally happened.”
Dallas (48-29) is just ahead of
the Denver Nuggets (46-30) for the final playoff spot in the West
and two games ahead of the Golden State Warriors (46-31), who are
lurking in ninth place.
“We are not out of it. We are
still trying to work our way up,” Howard said.
“The guys understand that and
we needed a win, I don’t know if it is desperation we just need
wins.”
The Mavericks, who are just 13-11
since acquiring star point guard Jason Kidd from the New Jersey
Nets, picked up just their second win in 13 games against teams with
a winning record during that span.
Trailing by 11 points after three
quarters, Dallas held Phoenix scoreless just under eight minutes in
the fourth quarter while running off 16 straight points, capped by
Erick Dampier’s follow-up dunk to make it 94-91 with 4:10 left in
the game.
“The fourth quarter we
couldn’t make a basket. Credit them for good defense, us bad
offence, whatever, it resulted in 12 straight missed shots and three
turnovers,” Suns coach Mike D’Antoni said.
The Mavericks didn’t let up as
Nowitzki made his presence felt in the final minutes, nailing an
awkward runner to make it 102-96 with 32.2 ticks left and adding his
trademark sneer to signal the effective end of the game.
--afp
|
