LOS ANGELES (AP)—So much for Dirk Nowitzki(notes) and Jason Kidd(notes) trying to call
it an early night with the Lakers awaiting. The Los Angeles Clippers wouldn’t
allow it.
Both of Dallas’ stars were needed in the fourth quarter, when the Mavericks
rallied to win 106-100 Wednesday night and improve the NBA’s best road record to
27-10.
Nowitzki scored 24 points playing nearly 37 minutes, including almost all of
the fourth, to beat back the scrappy Clippers. Kidd was hoping to sit out the
final period, but he was needed for 2 1/2 minutes to ensure the Mavs secured their
fifth straight win.
“We wanted to get some momentum going into tomorrow,” Nowitzki said. “We
had a good lead and didn’t close the game out the way we wanted to.”
The victory moved the Mavs within a half-game of the second-place Lakers in
the West, with the No. 2 seed up for grabs when they play Thursday night.
“It’s not the end of the world to be (No.) 3, but we’re going for it,”
Nowitzki said.
He missed the first of two free throws midway through the period, snapping
his streak of 74 in a row—longest in the league this season—that dated to
the fourth quarter against Indiana on March 4.
Nowitzki got ample chance to make up for it, when Mo Williams(notes) was hit with
consecutive technicals and ejected with 6:02 remaining and Nowitzki made both.
Blake Griffin(notes) got a technical about 42 seconds earlier.
“We lost control of the game when we had all those technical fouls,” Eric
Gordon(notes) said. “That gave them a good run and those were free points we gave
them. They just got a lot of calls.”
Griffin had 25 points and 17 rebounds for his 57th double-double, and in the
process set a franchise rookie record for most points in a season. He came off
the bench in the fourth to erase most of the Clippers’ 16-point deficit, scoring
six points in an 11-0 run that left them trailing 96-91 with 3:20 left.
“It started with Jamario Moon(notes) hitting a 3. After that, they made a layup
and get to the free throw line and all the sudden it’s under 10,” Mavs coach
Rick Carlisle said. “Then the building is into it and we had to answer. This is
a good win for us.”
Jose Barea answered with five straight points to push the Mavs’ lead to
101-91. He finished with 22 points. Kidd had 10 assists.
“We keep pushing the tempo and keep coming. We don’t panic,” Kidd said.
Earlier in the fourth, Nowitzki scored six points—four on free throws—in
the Mavs’ 13-1 run that produced their first double-digit lead of the game,
96-80. Nowitzki missed another free throw in the final minute.
Gordon added 15 points and Williams scored 19 points, making all nine of his
free throws for the Clippers, who’ve lost nine in a row and 15 of their last 16
to the Mavs. Dallas has won its last five road games against the Clippers.
Down by six with 7 seconds left, Gordon airballed a 3-point attempt.
“I just couldn’t get easy baskets,” he said. “They didn’t let me get into
the lane. When that happens, you end up with just long-range shots.”
The teams traded leads in a tight third quarter. With the Clippers leading
by one, the Mavs outscored them 12-6 to lead 75-70 going into the fourth. Peja
Stojakovic(notes) and Brian Cardinal(notes) hit 3-pointers in the spurt.
The Clippers blew a 13-point lead in the first, when Williams scored their
first nine points. Dallas tied the game at 44 late in the second and scored the
final two baskets to lead 48-46 at the break.
Notes: The Mavs improved to 13-1 against the Pacific Division, with their
only loss to the Lakers. … The Clippers’ franchise record for double-doubles
is 69 set by Bob McAdoo in 1974-75, when the team was in Buffalo. … The crowd
of 19,060 was the Clippers’ 16th sellout of the season.