Mayo, Kaman Help Mavericks End 3-Game Skid
DALLAS (AP) - O.J. Mayo and Chris Kaman didn't want to let another tight game slip away from the Dallas Mavericks.
Mayo scored 26 points, Kaman added 20 and the Mavericks snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Philadelphia 76ers 107-100 Tuesday night.
Dallas was holding on to an 88-82 lead when Mayo and Kaman took over late. The duo scored 17 of the team's last 19 points to help Dallas win their seventh straight at home against the 76ers.
The Mavericks were coming off an 0-3 road trip that included overtime losses to Boston and Minnesota.
Mayo had nine points and three assists in the final 6:17. Kaman, who hasn't played in the fourth quarter or overtime in four of the past five games, had eight points in that stretch.
"It's the most important time of the game," Kaman said. "It's crunch time and I was glad I was out there to finish plays."
Mayo, who also finished with a season-high eight assists, hit a 22-footer and Kaman made three shots in a row in an 8-2 run that made it 96-84. After the 76ers scored the next six, the pair combined to hit three shots in a row to push the lead up to 11.
"We try to involve those guys in a lot of things because they're both playing well," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "(Mayo's) aggression was really the key."
Dorell Wright scored 25 points and Spencer Hawes had 18 for the 76ers, who lost their fourth straight game. Philadelphia point guard Jrue Holiday, the team's leading scorer at nearly 19 points per game, missed his third straight game with a sprained left foot.
"I thought we had some guys play well and we've got to keep building on that," 76ers coach Doug Collins said. "We know we're undermanned, but nobody cares."
Dallas point guard Derek Fisher left the game with 6:50 remaining in the first quarter with a strained right knee and did not return. Fisher, who wasn't expected to play because of the flu, went down to the ground after having his shot blocked by Evan Turner. The 17th-year guard walked slowly to the locker room.
Carlisle said Fisher will have an MRI tomorrow to determine the severity of the injury.
Dallas' Shawn Marion scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds. The forward surpassed 16,000 points in his career, becoming the 95th player in NBA history to top the milestone.
Turner chipped in with 17 points for the 76ers and Thaddeus Young had 12.
Wright hit seven 3-pointers, including four in the final quarter to keep Philadelphia close.
Wright's consecutive 3s brought the 76ers to 96-90 with 2:50 left before Mayo and Kaman squashed the rally. Mayo drove past Hawes on consecutive layups and Kaman hit a bank shot to make it 102-91 with 1:36 remaining.
Wright made two more 3-pointers to make it 102-97 with 30.2 seconds left, but the Mavericks closed it out by hitting 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch.
The Mavericks face a rugged schedule the rest of the week with games against Miami, Memphis and San Antonio.
"We didn't have a great road trip, obviously," Mayo said. "It was important for us to come home and get a win."
The 76ers kicked off a stretch Tuesday night where they play 10 of 11 on the road. Philadelphia will try to end its slide Wednesday night at Houston.
"We're all NBA players," Wright said. "Everybody has to step up and do their job for us to be successful."
Neither team led by more than five points in the third quarter.
Wright hit a 3 that put Philadelphia on top 74-71 with 50.7 seconds left in the third.
Mayo tied it with a 3 and hit two free throws to give Dallas the lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Darren Collison, who played 30 minutes in place of Fisher, scored the final five points of the first half to give the Mavericks a 57-52 halftime lead.
Young snuck inside for a tip-in basket off a miss to tie the game at 52 with 59.5 seconds left before halftime. Carlisle immediately called a timeout and ripped into his team in the huddle.
Collison responded with a 3-pointer and then hit a pair of free throws with 2.7 seconds remaining to put Dallas ahead by five at halftime.
