Sweet 16! Playoff-bound Mavs top Nets

Mar 7, 2007, 4:25 GMT

Dallas, TX - Dirk Nowitzki had another solid game with 22 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and the Dallas Mavericks extended their franchise-record winning streak to 16 games with a 102-89 victory over the New Jersey Nets at American Airlines Center.

The 16-game stretch is the 10th longest winning streak in NBA history. Dallas' 103-98 victory over Orlando on Saturday, their 15th in a row, broke the old franchise record set October 30-November 27, 2002. The team has won 51 of its last 56 games, including a franchise-record 23 straight at home since a 92-82 loss to Detroit on December 7.

Jason Terry poured in a team-high 24 points for Dallas, which at 51-9 is the first team in the playoffs. The Mavericks had seven players in double figures and shot 49 percent in the contest. Erick Dampier added 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Mavericks.

'Tonight was pretty much a steady performance for us,' said Dallas head coach Avery Johnson. 'We had our moments where we weren't very good, but we really did some good things tonight. If I had a game ball to give out tonight, I would give it to Dampier. He was really active from start to finish, he was a presence inside and that's what we know he can do on a night-in and night-out basis.'

Vince Carter scored 32 points, pulled down six rebounds and had eight assists for the Nets, who have lost three straight following a three-game winning streak. Mikki Moore scored 20 points, while Jason Kidd chipped in with 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for New Jersey.

Down by six heading into the third, the Nets tied the game at 51 on Moore's jumper at 8:27. Terry answered with a trey, and followed with a driving layup for the Mavericks, who were up 56-51 with 7:39 left.

It was a see-saw battle after that point, as New Jersey briefly reclaimed the lead, 59-58, on Carter's jump shot with just under five minutes left in the stanza. Dallas quickly answered, though, putting up 14 of the next 23 points, and led 72-68 heading to the fourth.

Dampier extended the Mavs' cushion to eight on a dunk and a pair of free throws to open the fourth.

The Nets made it a five-point contest later on, but Dallas once again opened a 10-point lead on Josh Howard's jumper with just 5:09 remaining in the contest.

New Jersey never got closer than four the rest of the way.

'We just went out and got rebounds,' said Dampier, on holding off the Nets in the fourth. 'When we rebound the ball really well, get out and run and knock down the open shot, we're pretty good.'

With the game tied at eight early on, Terry's jump shot ignited a 12-4 run by the Mavericks. The burst was capped by Nowitzki's turnaround jumper for a 20-12 Dallas lead at 4:29 in the first.

Carter closed the stanza with a pair of free throws and a fadeaway jumper for New Jersey, which trailed 25-18 after one.

The Nets stormed back with a 10-0 spurt, as Clifford Robinson's three-point shot gave them a 28-25 lead at 8:36. New Jersey's offense then went ice cold, however, as the team did not make another field goal for nearly 4 1/2 minutes.

Dallas scored 14 unanswered points before Carter's driving layup stopped the bleeding for the Nets, but the team trailed 39-30 with 4:15 remaining in the first half.

The Mavericks led 47-41 at the break.

Game Notes

Dallas has won 13 of 14 against New Jersey...Nowitzki came in averaging 28.0 points, 10.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists in his last eight games...The showdown between the teams was their second and final meeting of the regular season. The Mavericks won the first matchup, 92-75, on December 5 at Continental Airlines Arena...The Nets shot 43 percent in the contest...Howard, Jerry Stackhouse and Greg Buckner each finished with 10 points for Dallas, which also got 11 from Devin Harris.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

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