Atlanta, GA – Darren Collison scored a game-high 24 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 22 as the Dallas Mavericks cruised to a 127-113 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
"I was able to get it going. A lot of players in this league, once they get it going, that basket gets bigger and bigger. That's what happened in the second quarter," said Collison, who scored 15 points after going 7-for-7 from the floor in the second.
O.J. Mayo added 17 points, while Chris Kaman and Vince Carter added 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the Mavericks, winners in six of their last eight games. Brandan Wright added 12 points and eight rebounds in the triumph.
Jeff Teague scored 19 points and Al Horford had 16 points and 11 boards for the Hawks, who had won three straight entering the contest.
"We talked to us about how hard they play, and how well they have been playing. I think they were, by far, the more aggressive team tonight," Horford said. "I felt that we came out, we were playing, but I think we kind of got seduced into playing their style of play. They really pushed the tempo up."
Josh Smith scored 13 points and Anthony Tolliver added 12 points in the setback.
After trading baskets for most of the first quarter, Kaman sparked a 13-4 Dallas run with a layup at the 5:50 mark. Mayo and Mike James then hit back- to-back treys before Carter capped the flurry with a triple to give the Mavs a 22-15 edge with 3:43 left.
The Hawks pulled within 24-20 following Smith's three-point play, but Dallas closed the quarter on a 10-5 swing to take a 34-25 lead after the first 12 minutes.
Collison's three-point play stretched the lead to 41-28 early in the second and the Mavs led by 16 just past the midway point of the frame. The lead swelled to 19, 58-39, shortly after, but Atlanta was able to cut it to 68-55 entering the break.
The Hawks got the lead down to 11 several times in the third, but Wright's putback slam gave Dallas a 98-85 edge entering the final frame.
Atlanta didn't get closer than 11 in the fourth.
Game Notes
Dallas has won three of their last four in Atlanta ... The Mavs shot 57.3 percent (51-for-89) from the field and went 13-for-22 from 3-point range ... The Hawks had eight players score in double figures, as Kyle Korver scored 11 and Devin Harris, Ivan Johnson and John Jenkins added 10 points apiece ... There was a short delay prior to the fourth quarter after an Atlanta cheerleader was injured during a routine between quarters. She was taken to Atlanta Medical Center for evaluation.
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