Mavericks shoot well, blow past Bulls
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Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Monta Ellis had 22 points, Dirk Nowitzki and Vince Carter scored 18 apiece and the Dallas Mavericks rolled to a 105-83 win over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.
Nowitzki made all four of his 3-pointers and the Mavericks were 13-for-26 as a team while shooting better than 52 percent overall. They won for the second time in their last five games.
"They made a couple of runs but we were able to sustain and come out with a good victory," said Shawn Marion, who had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Mavs.
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Joakim Noah had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who had a two-game winning streak snapped -- their only back-to-back wins since losing Derrick Rose to another knee injury on Nov. 22.
Bulls leading scorer Luol Deng (Achilles) missed his fourth straight game.
The Mavericks outscored the Bulls 61-34 in the first half.
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Chicago led 17-15 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter but Dallas used an extended 24-4 run spanning the first two frames to take control of the game.
Carter and Ellis scored six apiece in the surge, Nowitzki had a four-point play and Shane Larkin's 3-pointer made it 39-21 about three minutes into the second quarter.
"They are a terrific offensive team," said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, "so if they get their confidence early, you're in for a tough night."
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Dallas' lead reached 29 twice near the end of the half, the first time on a Nowitzki jumper. Carter led all players with 14 points in the half, hitting four of his five shots, including a trio of 3s.
Already in control, the Mavs got hot in the third quarter, shooting almost 69 percent and pushing their lead as high as 32. It was 86-56 going into the fourth and the Bulls never got closer than 14 the rest of the way.
Game Notes
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Chicago had won four of its last five against Dallas ... Both teams play on the road Monday. The Mavericks will face Minnesota and the Bulls will play Memphis.