Howard, Mavericks Pull Ahead Early on Nets, Never Look Back
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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points and Josh Howard added 23 to lead Dallas past the Nets 92–75 last night.
A night after having its 12-game winning streak snapped at Washington, Dallas led from the game’s first basket and pulled away in the fourth quarter. Howard and Nowitzki led the surge, scoring all of Dallas’ points in a 13–4 run that gave the Mavericks an 88–71 lead with 3:10 left.
Vince Carter scored 20 points for the Nets, which lost for the seventh time in nine games.
The win pulled Dallas into a tie with San Antonio atop the Southwest Division, while New Jersey fell into a first-place tie with Toronto in the Atlantic.
In its 106–97 loss to the Wizards on Monday, Dallas played lethargically until late in the game and at one point trailed by 31 points. Against the Nets, the Mavericks started strong and built a 17-point lead in the third quarter.
The Nets cut the gap to eight points at the start of the fourth quarter, thanks to backup forward Mikki Moore — who scored eight points in the quarter all on tap-ins or lay ups — but the comeback faltered.
Nowitzki had a quiet first half with just four points until the final four minutes of the second quarter, and finished the half with 10. Howard picked up the slack with 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting.
