Nowitzki, Mavs Surge Past Thunder, 111-103
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Dirk Nowitzki scored 34 points, Tyson Chandler had season highs with 17 points and 18 rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks charged past the Oklahoma City Thunder in the fourth quarter for a 111-103 victory Wednesday night.
Nowitzki and Jason Terry teamed to score 10 straight points in a 57-second span to put Dallas up for good midway through the final period, and the Mavericks sealed it with a 12-0 run.
Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 32 points but was held in check in the fourth before two dunks with the game out of reach in the final minute. Jeff Green added 17 points, and Russell Westbrook had 13 points and 10 assists for the Thunder, who had a five-game winning streak snapped.
The Thunder played with the lead much of the night, but couldn't find a way to put away Dallas before fading in the fourth quarter for the second straight game.
Unlike two nights earlier in a win against Minnesota, Oklahoma City had no answer for a late 10-0 run.
Nowitzki came out of a timeout and rallied the Mavericks with back-to-back 3-pointers, getting fouled by Serge Ibaka at the right wing on the second one. He clapped his hands while seated on the floor, then stepped to the line for the tying free throw.
Terry followed with another 3 from the right wing that took a high bounce off the rim and fell in, putting Dallas up 93-90 after a 10-point run that lasted only 57 seconds.
Westbrook stopped the bleeding momentarily with a layup, but Jason Kidd soon started another big run by Dallas with a 3-pointer. Chandler had a two-handed dunk that turned into a three-point play, and Nowitzki scored the final four points to push the lead to 107-93 with 1:51 remaining.
Caron Butler added 15 points and Kidd had eight points and 12 assists as the Mavs moved to 5-1 on the road this season. Chandler had by far his biggest game since being traded from Charlotte in the offseason, then signing a six-year deal with Dallas.
His previous season highs were 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Oklahoma City had squandered an 18-point lead to Minnesota on Monday night before closing with a 22-6 run to escape with that victory.
This time, Durant had only two points in the fourth quarter before his two meaningless scores at the end.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
