The Dallas Mavericks recovered from a slow start to defeat their Texas rivals the Houston Rockets 121-103 on Tuesday.
Jason Terry made 7-of-8 field goals in scoring 24 points, while Dirk Nowitzki added 23 to help the Mavericks overcome a 56-39 second-quarter deficit and claim their second straight win.
“We were just getting our tails kicked and the guys got angry and started playing a lot harder with a lot more purpose,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle told the Houston Chronicle. “That turned it around.”
Dallas outscored Houston 64-42 during the second half to improve to 5-2 this season and move into first place in the Southwest Division.
Aaron Brooks led the way for Houston with 22 points, while Carl Landry had 19 for the Rockets (4-3).
Forward Luis Scola scored 10 points in the first quarter as Houston opened up a 37-28 lead, who have impressed this season despite being without the injured pair Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.
“It was fool’s gold,” Rockets forward Shane Battier said. “We sort of thought, ‘Well, all right, we’ll be able to do that the rest of the game. It doesn’t work like that.’”
Dallas fought back with a 22-3 run that started before halftime and carried into the third quarter.
Mavericks reserve Jose Juan Barea scored eight of his 14 points in the final 2:20 of the third quarter, which ended with Dallas leading 83-74 advantage.
Center Erick Dampier made 20 rebounds and scored 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting while Josh Howard added 14 points in his second game back with the team after missing the first five with ankle and wrist injuries.
NUGGETS 90, BULLS 89
At Chicago, Chauncey Billups hit the go-ahead free throw with six‑tenths of a second left as the Denver Nuggets beat the Chicago Bulls after a potential winning jumper by Brad Miller was overturned following a lengthy replay review.
Billups was fouled on a drive and then intentionally missed the second free throw after making the first to break the tie. Chicago’s Joakim Noah grabbed the rebound.
After a timeout, Miller caught the inbounds pass from Kirk Hinrich and, in one motion, buried a jumper from the top of the key. After a review, the officials ruled time had expired, and the Nuggets snapped a two-game losing streak.
Carmelo Anthony scored a season-low 20 points for Denver, while Billups added 17.
Derrick Rose led Chicago with 22 points, while Luol Deng scored 21, and Noah had a career-high 21 rebounds for the Bulls, who had won three straight.
TRAIL BLAZERS 93, GRIZZLIES 79
At Memphis, Tennessee, Brandon Roy scored 20 points, and LaMarcus Aldridge added 16 points and 12 rebounds as Portland won their third straight.
Steve Blake and Greg Oden had 14 points each for Portland, all of Oden’s coming in the second half. Marc Gasol led Memphis with 20 points, while O.J. Mayo scored 17.
The Grizzlies were without guard Allen Iverson, who left the team last weekend, with owner Michael Heisley’s blessing, after playing three games on the West Coast.
HEAT 90, WIZARDS 76
At Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 41 points as Miami remained in first place in the Southeast Division.
It’s the second time Wade scored at least 40 this season, both against Washington.
Michael Beasley scored 15 points and Mario Chalmers added 13, including a 3-pointer that put Miami up by eight with 1:47 remaining. The Heat are 6-1 for the first time in a decade, matching the best seven-game start in franchise history.
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