Dallas denied San Antonio a 13th straight NBA victory on Friday, beating their Texas rivals 103-94.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points for the Mavericks and Shawn Marion scored 11 of his 19 in the fourth quarter as Dallas had the satisfaction of beating a San Antonio team that shocked them in the playoffs last season.
Manu Ginobili had 31 points for the Spurs, 16 of them in the opening quarter, but Dallas, who lost all three playoff games in San Antonio in their first-round exit last season, pulled away with a 14-2 scoring run in the final five minutes.
Although the close contest saw five lead changes in the fourth quarter, the Dallas defense limited the Spurs to 36.8 percent from the field in the final period.
Nowitzki, who has averaged 34 points in his last three games, was 12-of-14 from the floor, but he was pleased that he didn’t have to take too many shots.
“Offensively, there were times in the past where we would force-feed the ball to me, but we haven’t done that the last couple of games. We kept moving the rock,” Nowitzki said.
George Hill scored 21 points off the bench and gave the Spurs the lead with 4 minutes, 45 seconds remaining after a steal and a layup.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle argued in vain that Hill had stepped out of bounds, but in the end it didn’t matter.
Marion quickly re-established Dallas’ lead with a three-point play and three turnovers then stalled the Spurs’ attack.
San Antonio missed a chance to match their longest winning streak in three seasons. They won 13 in a row from Feb. 13 to March 13 in 2007, while the club record for consecutive victories is 17, set in 1996. The Spurs fell to 13-2.
“The last few games we were executing great down the stretch and making shots, but today they did,” Ginobili said. “It was pretty clear they made all the shots they needed and we didn’t.”
Tim Duncan had 15 points for San Antonio, while Tony Parker had just nine points.
Dallas were playing in San Antonio for the first time since April, when the Spurs ousted the heavily-favored second-seeded Mavericks in Game 6 of the first-round playoffs.
Neither team made big changes in the off-season, but the Spurs have a decidedly different look.
Long known for their defense, they entered Friday’s contest as the second-highest scoring team in the NBA and their average of 108.0 points is their highest since the 1987-1988 season.
San Antonio next face New Orleans, the only other team to beat them this season.
“It happens,” Hill said of the defeat. “It has been a good journey so far. The only thing we can do is focus on Sunday [when the Spurs face the Hornets].”
HEAT 99, 76ERS 90
In Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 23 points and LeBron James added 20 as Miami ended a three-game losing streak at the expense of Philadelphia.
Chris Bosh scored 18 points and Carlos Arroyo had a season-high 17 for Miami, who needed a 12-2 run at the start of the fourth quarter to pull away from Philadelphia — the team off to the worst start in the Eastern Conference.
Jodie Meeks scored 18 of his 21 points in the second quarter for the 76ers, who dropped their third straight game.
JAZZ 102, LAKERS 96
In Salt Lake City, Utah, Deron Williams scored 29 points and Andrei Kirilenko grabbed two rebounds late in the game as Utah rallied from a 19-point, first-half deficit to beat Los Angeles for their fourth straight victory.
Williams tied the score at 96-96 with 1 minute, 16 seconds remaining with a three-point shot, then stole the ball and passed to Raja Bell for what proved to be the game-winning play.
Ron Artest and Paul Gasol both missed shots late for the Lakers (13-3), who saw their five-game winning streak end.
NUGGETS 98, BULLS 97
In Denver, Colorado, Carmelo Anthony made a jump-shot as time expired as Denver, after blowing a 19-point, third-quarter lead, came back to beat Chicago.
Anthony finished with 22 points, Nene Hilario added 18 points and Ty Lawson had 17 for the Nuggets.
C.J. Watson led the Bulls with 33 points and Luol Deng had 24. Joakim Noah added 17 points and 16 rebounds.
Both teams played without their starting point guards. Chicago’s Derrick Rose had a sore neck, apparently from having slept on it awkwardly the night before. Denver’s Chauncey Billups missed a second consecutive game since spraining his right wrist and breaking his nose in last weekend’s game against New Jersey.
MAGIC 111, CAVALIERS 100
In Orlando, Florida, Dwight Howard scored 23 points and 11 rebounds as the Magic beat Cleveland.
J.J. Redick, starting for the second straight game in place of the injured Vince Carter, added 15 points for Orlando, who won for the sixth time in their last seven games. Quentin Richardson and Rashard Lewis had 14 apiece for the Magic, who had all five starters in double figures.
Antawn Jamison came off the bench to score 22 points and Mo Williams contributed 20 for the Cavaliers, who fell behind by 12 early in the second quarter and couldn’t get the deficit under 10 the rest of the game.
CELTICS 110, RAPTORS 101
In Boston, Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Shaquille O’Neal added 16 points and nine boards as Boston avenged a loss to Toronto last week.
It was the Celtics’ third straight win after they had consecutive losses for the only time this season, the second coming in Toronto last Sunday.
Glen “Big Baby” Davis had 10 of his 18 points in the final quarter for Boston.
Linas Kleiza led Toronto’s balanced scoring with 18 points. The Raptors, who had won four straight, had six players in double figures.
THUNDER 110, PACERS 106, OT
In Indianapolis, Indiana, Russell Westbrook scored 43 points and Kevin Durant made clutch-shots late in Oklahoma City’s overtime victory over Indiana.
Westbrook was 13-of-24 from the field and made 17-of-18 free-throws as Oklahoma City overcame a 14-point second-half deficit to win their fifth consecutive road game.
Danny Granger led Indiana with 30 points.
Friday’s other results:
‧ Bobcats 99, Rockets 89
‧ Hornets 97, Trail Blazers 78
‧ Grizzlies 116, Warriors 111
‧ Suns 116, Clippers 108
‧ Pistons 103, Bucks 89
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