CHICAGO -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 points, Rodrigue Beaubois and Caron Butler added 24 apiece and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Chicago Bulls 122-116 Saturday to extend their season-high win streak to 11 games.
Nowitzki scored 13 in the fourth quarter and the Mavericks hung on after watching a 14-point lead shrink to four, sending Chicago to its fourth straight loss.
Derrick Rose scored 34 points, but the Bulls simply couldn't get the stops they needed. Dallas shot 56.3 percent and got 18 points from Shawn Marion to go with the big performances by Nowitzki, Butler and Beaubois, a late addition to the lineup after center Brendan Haywood was scratched with tightness in his lower back.
Beaubois, a rookie, came up big again after scoring what was then career-high 22 the previous night against Sacramento. He scored 18 in the third quarter as the Mavericks extended their lead to 94-80, and the Mavericks improved their longest streak since a 17-game run three years ago.
The Bulls made a big push in the fourth quarter, starting it on a 14-4 run that included a jumper and two 3-pointers by Jannero Pargo, the second making it 98-94 with 7:59 remaining. Nowitzki then hit a fadeaway jumper, Butler nailed a 3 and the Mavericks hung on.
It was another rough night for Chicago, which was playing the third of nine straight games against playoff contenders. The Bulls are missing Joakim Noah, their leading rebounder and defensive presence down low, but the Mavericks continued to win despite their aches and pains. Besides Haywood, they were also missing Jason Terry (facial surgery) and Erick Dampier (dislocated right middle finger).
Even so, they appeared to be in good shape before the Bulls made their move.
The Mavericks led 66-55 after scoring six unanswered points in the final 44 seconds of the first half, with Rose committing two turnovers and Brad Miller getting blocked underneath. Butler started the spurt with an 18 footer, and Beaubois converted a short jumper after rejecting Miller.
Jason Kidd then fed Nowitzki for a layup that made it an 11-point game with 5.8 seconds remaining after picking off a pass by Rose, who immediately coughed the ball up again. This time, Marion missed a 16-footer at the buzzer.
*
Spurs 102, Grizzlies 92: MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Richard Jefferson scored 18 points, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili added 17 each and the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 102-92 on Saturday night.
The victory was the Spurs' fourth straight and extended the Grizzlies' skid at home to eight losses in a row.
Six Spurs finished in double figures, including Matt Bonner who had 13 points, including shooting 4 of 7 from 3-point range. George Hill added 11 and DeJuan Blair 10.
The Spurs played the second half without guard Tony Parker, the team's second-leading scorer, who broke a bone in his right hand at the end of the first half.
O.J. Mayo led Memphis with 23 points, while Marc Gasol finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Zach Randolph had 15 points, while Rudy Gay contributed 13. However, Gay and Randolph were a combined 9 of 27, part of Memphis shooting 43 percent from the floor.
Memphis was within 91-85 with 5:36 left, but the Spurs scored the next seven points to get the advantage back to double digits.
From there, it was a matter of exchanging baskets the rest of the way for San Antonio to leave with a victory.
The Spurs shot 55 percent in the first half, and overcame an early deficit with a 20-4 run to open the second period. San Antonio would continue to extend the advantage as Bonner connected on a trio of 3-pointers, part of San Antonio hitting six of its first nine shots outside the arc.
*
Rockets 112, Timberwolves 98: MINNEAPOLIS -- Luis Scola had 25 points and a career-high 21 rebounds and the struggling Houston Rockets righted themselves with a 112-98 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Kevin Martin had 30 points and Aaron Brooks added 25 points and nine assists for the Rockets. The game against Minnesota couldn't have come at a better time for Houston, which had lost five of seven to fall to 10th place in the West since acquiring Martin in a trade with Sacramento.
But the Rockets hit 11 3-pointers and outrebounded the Timberwolves 49-40 to beat Minnesota for the 11th straight time.
Kevin Love had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Ryan Gomes scored 17 for the Timberwolves, who have lost five in a row and 11 of their last 12. Minnesota has won one game since beating Memphis on Feb. 6.
The Timberwolves were without Al Jefferson, who served the second of a two-game suspension after he was arrested for DWI early Sunday morning. Jefferson has typically feasted on the Rockets throughout his time in Minnesota, both when Yao Ming was roaming the paint and against Houston's smaller front of Scola and Chuck Hayes.
He had 26 points and a career-high 26 rebounds against the Rockets on Jan. 13, and the Wolves sorely missed his presence on the boards early.
Scola, the scrappy Argentinian, bullied the Timberwolves from the jump, grabbing 12 of Houston's 22 rebounds in the first half and scoring 17 points to give the Rockets a 60-50 lead at halftime.
The Rockets used an 18-1 burst spanning the first and second quarter to take control, then closed the third period with a 9-0 run to put the game out of reach.
*
Bucks 92, Cavaliers 85: MILWAUKEE -- Rookie Brandon Jennings scored 25 points and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers while LeBron James watched from the bench and limping noticeably off it.
Jennings, who said earlier this week maybe he'd stop shooting after several poor performances, hit five 3-pointers and went 6 of 14 from the field.
Antawn Jamison had 30 points and 11 rebounds, but the Cavs lost their 10th straight dating to 2007 without James in the lineup.
Cleveland's six-game winning streak was snapped and the Cavaliers will have to wait until at least Monday night to become the first team to reach 50 wins this season. The Cavs are 2 1/2 games up on the Lakers for the NBA's best record.
Coach Mike Brown insisted his decision to sit James was for rest and had nothing to do with the previous night when the star twisted his right ankle. Brown said his superstar could play, if needed, but that wasn't apparent while watching James.
*
Nets 113, Knicks 93: NEW YORK -- Devin Harris scored 31 points and the New Jersey Nets erased an early 16-point deficit to beat the New York Knicks, improving the NBA's worst record to 7-55.
Courtney Lee added 25 in his return to the starting lineup for the Nets, who are trying to avoid finishing with the worst record in NBA history. They beat the Knicks for the second straight time, but have no more games against their almost-as-hapless neighbors across the Hudson River.
David Lee scored 23 points and Wilson Chandler had 20 for the Knicks, who set an NBA record for 3-point futility by missing all 18 attempts while losing for the 12th time in 14 games. New York also joined Charlotte as the only teams with multiple losses to the Nets this season.
*
Heat 100, Hawks 94: MIAMI -- Dwyane Wade scored 38 points, and Michael Beasley capped a big fourth quarter with seven consecutive points in the final two minutes, helping the short-handed Miami Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks.
Beasley scored 14 of his 22 points in the final period, and his late spurt gave the Heat a six-point lead. Atlanta failed to score on five consecutive possessions in the last three minutes, committing three consecutive turnovers during the stretch.
Wade made four 3-pointers, hit 14 of 18 free throws and added 10 assists. Quentin Richardson sank five 3-pointers and scored 22 points for Miami.
By halftime, the Heat were down three players. Rafer Alston wasn't at the arena for personal reasons, Dorell Wright sat out with a swollen left knee, and Jermaine O'Neal tweaked his left knee in the second quarter and missed the rest of the game.
*
Bobcats 101, Warriors 90: CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- D.J. Augustin scored 19 points off the bench, Gerald Wallace added 18 before getting ejected, and the Charlotte Bobcats pulled away late to beat the Golden State Warriors and spoil Stephen Curry's return home.
With much fanfare, the Charlotte native and former Davidson star played his first game as a pro here in front of sellout crowd that gave him a standing ovation and cheered most of his made baskets. Curry scored 25 points, but shot just 8 of 23 and the depleted Warriors faded in the fourth quarter in their fourth straight loss.
Wallace scored all of his points in the second half and added 10 rebounds, but was tossed after elbowing Anthony Tolliver in the face in a tussle with 59 seconds left.
*
Jazz 107, Clippers 85: SALT LAKE CITY -- Mehmet Okur scored 27 points and Carlos Boozer got his 40th double-double of the season with 17 points and 17 rebounds, leading the Utah Jazz over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Deron Williams had 10 points and 10 assists for the Jazz, who atoned for getting upset by the Clippers less than a week before and won a vital home game. Utah had played two straight on the road is off on a four-game trip starting Tuesday in Chicago.
The Clippers had lost at home the night before to Oklahoma City and fizzled in the second half, scoring just 13 in the fourth quarter.
Drew Gooden had 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Clippers.
RSS
Mobile
Daily Emails
Twitter
Facebook
