Magic Comeback Falls Short
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DALLAS (AP) -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 11 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter and the Dallas Mavericks shut down Dwight Howard the final three quarters, giving them just enough to hold off the Orlando Magic 111-108 Monday night.
The Magic thought they'd tied the game at 109 when Keith Bogans nailed a long jumper over Nowitzki's outstretched arm with 3.5 seconds left, but officials correctly ruled that his right toe was on the 3-point line, keeping Dallas ahead by a point.
Jerry Stackhouse made a pair of free throws to stretch the lead back to three, but Orlando still had one last chance to tie it -- a long, running 3-pointer from the right sideline by Keyon Doolingas time expired.
The arena got real quiet as everyone watched the ball float toward the rim, but it banged between the iron and the backboard and popped out, giving Dallas its fifth win in six games and sending Orlando to a rare road loss. The Magic is 12-4, with the other defeats coming at San Antonio, Phoenix and Milwaukee.
Howard was coming off consecutive 30-point, 15-rebound outings and appeared headed toward another when he scored 11 of the Magic's first 13 points. He finished the first quarter with 16 points, hitting six of eight shots, but was only 3-of-8 the rest of the way. He finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.
Nowitzki hit 30 points for the third time in seven games. He also had 11 rebounds and four assists.
Stackhouse scored 21 points. Josh Howard added 19 points and six rebounds, and Devin Harris had 15 points and nine assists.
Orlando's Hedo Turkoglu scored 26, half coming in the fourth quarter. Rashard Lewis had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Jameer Nelson had 13 points and five assists.
The Mavericks led for most of the game, and by as much as 11, but couldn't shake the Magic completely.
Their final rally began with a basket by Turkoglu that cut Dallas' lead to 105-101. A 3 by J.J. Redick made it 107-104, then a pair of free throws by Nelson made it 107-106 with 7.4 seconds left. Nowitzki answered with a pair from the line to stretch the lead back to 109-106, then came Bogans' long shot that wasn't long enough.
Howard's first-quarter performance justified the "MVP level" Dallas coach Avery Johnson talked about before the game. Then, in the second quarter, Nowitzki reminded everyone that he's the reigning MVP with a run of seven straight points in a stretch that began right after Howard checked back into the game following a rest.
Howard had the biggest play of the third quarter, an alley-oop dunk so powerful he cut the side of his hand, but Nowitzki had the more meaningful plays down the stretch. Howard, in fact, was shut out in the final quarter.
Nowitzki began taking over midway through the fourth, following a tough one-hander with an open 3-pointer, putting Dallas up 93-85. While he's known for his long-range shot, it was his first 3-pointer in four games and just his 19th in 25 this season. Maybe that's why he let out a ferocious celebratory punch.
Game notes: Orlando has made more than 50 percent of its shots in the last two games, but lost both. ... Dallas has won eight of 10 against Orlando. ... The Mavs sent second-year swingman Maurice Ager to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League, a step backward for the former first-round pick who started three games this season. "He needs minutes and I don't have any minutes for him," Johnson said.
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