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Sports

Nowitzki gets 31, leads Mavs to 12th straight win

Associated Press
Published | Updated

DALLAS – Dirk Nowitzki had 31 points and 15 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks extended their winning streak to 12 games with a 103-97 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night.

The Mavericks rallied after wasting a 25-point first-half lead. DeShawn Stevenson added a season-high 17 points, going 5 of 7 from 3-point range, and Caron Butler had 16 points for Dallas.

The Mavericks put on a long-range shooting clinic, hitting 14 of 26 from beyond the arc to prevail in a matchup of Western Conference heavyweights.

Dallas-area native Deron Williams scored 19 of his 34 points in the first half and paced the Jazz, who had won nine of 11. Paul Millsap added 16 points and Ronnie Price scored 14 for Utah.

Dallas made 13 of 18 field goal attempts in the opening quarter, going 7 for 10 from 3-point range, and the Mavericks went on to stretch the NBA's longest current winning streak.

The Mavericks (19-4) are off to their best start since 2002-03.

Utah cut into the big early deficit, but Dallas still carried an 81-70 edge into the fourth quarter.

The Jazz tied it at 89 with 4:31 left on Williams' three-point play, and Utah was within 96-95 with 2:40 remaining on Price's 3-pointer.

But Nowitzki drove for a layup, was fouled and converted the three-point play for a 99-95 lead with 2:19 to play.

Al Jefferson's follow shot with 29.9 seconds left got the Jazz within 99-97.

But Jason Terry's 3-pointer from the right corner with 7.6 seconds remaining extended Dallas' lead to 102-97.

The Jazz beat Orlando on the road Friday night, and the players didn't get into their hotel rooms in Dallas until early Saturday morning.

The fatigue showed early as Dallas bolted to a 16-2 start capped by five consecutive 3 pointers, two by Nowitzki, two from Stevenson and one by Butler.

When the Mavs extended their lead to 21-2 on Tyson Chandler's alley-oop dunk with 5:58 left in the first quarter, Utah coach Jerry Sloan used a second timeout during the run to settle down his team.

The Mavericks went on to a 29-4 edge on Butler's 3-pointer before the Jazz finally got untracked, finishing the quarter with a 15-5 spurt.

Dallas was still comfortably ahead entering the second quarter, 34-19, but by halftime the Jazz had narrowed the gap to 54-42.

NOTES: The Mavs have won 13 of their last 15 at home against the Jazz. ... C Mehmet Okur (left Achilles' tendon) and G Raja Bell (strained right adductor) remain out for Utah. Okur hasn't played this season and Bell sat out his second straight game. C Kyrylo Fesenko was active for the Jazz after missing the previous two games with a sprained left ankle, but did not play. ... The longest winning streak in Mavericks history was 17 games in the 2006-07 season. ... The Mavs held their annual Seats for Soldiers Night, with season-ticket holders donating their courtside seats to members of the Armed Forces.