Mavericks Top Clippers 99-82
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jason Kidd ended the first half with a 65-foot shot-put heave from inside the 3-point arc at the opposite end, Caron Butler scored 17 points and Shawn Marion had 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 99-83 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
Dirk Nowitzki added 16 points and seven rebounds for the defending Southwest Division champions in their first road game of the season. Kidd finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Rookie Blake Griffin had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Clippers, who missed 14 of their first 16 shots and finished at 34 percent while falling to 0-3 on the season under new coach Vinny Del Negro. None of the starters reached double digits until Griffin converted a slam dunk with 5:32 left in the third quarter.
Griffin missed nine of his first 11 shots and also was hit with his first technical foul in his third NBA game from referee Mark Lindsay after teammate Ryan Gomes was called for his fifth foul with 3:06 to play.
Baron Davis came up empty on his first five attempts before connecting on a 20-footer that trimmed Dallas' lead to eight at 66-58 with 5:58 left in the third. Rasual Butler, the Clippers' 3-point specialist, was 0 for 5 from behind the arc and played 21 scoreless minutes.
The Mavericks, who squandered an 11-point lead in the first half before taking a 49-47 halftime lead on Kidd's miracle shot, pulled ahead 63-52 with a 10-1 spurt capped by Tyson Chandler's slam dunk off an alley-oop feed from Kidd with 7:23 left in the third period. Dallas built the margin to 16 on Jose Barea's 3-pointer with 8 1/2 minutes remaining, and the Clippers got no closer than 11 points after that.
The Clippers played without backup point guard Randy Foye, who tweaked his hamstring during Saturday's practice and is expected to miss one or two weeks according to Del Negro. The club will have a better idea of Foye's status Monday. In the meantime, rookie Eric Bledsoe will back up Davis. If necessary, shooting guard Eric Gordon may spend some time at point guard depending on matchups and foul trouble.
