Dallas surges past Portland
Nowitzki scores 30 in Mavs’ 102-94 win
Friday, December 26, 2008 9:09 PM PST
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| Don Ryan | Associated Press
Portland guard Steve Blake (left) looks to pass against Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry during the first half of their NBA basketball game in Portland Thursday. |
PORTLAND (AP) — The veteran Dallas Mavericks gave the Portland Trail Blazers a lesson in toughness and discipline.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 of his 30 points in the first half, and Jason Terry had 19 to help surging Dallas beat the Blazers 102-94 on Thursday night.
Nowitzki was 12-of-18 from the field and scored on power moves and jumpers despite playing the second half in foul trouble.
Josh Howard added 15 points for Dallas, 15-4 in its last 19 games after opening 2-7.
Portland’s Brandon Roy had 22 points, but went scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Steve Blake added 14 points and seven assists, Travis Outlaw and Rudy Fernandez had 13 points each, and LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 12.
The Mavericks closed the game with a 12-2 run, while Roy went 0-for-3 in the final 3:33 for Portland.
Nowitzki picked up his fourth foul early in the third and left the game, picking up a technical foul for arguing with official Bob Delaney on the way out.
With Nowitzki out, Portland took a 67-66 lead on a 12-foot jumper by LaMarcus Aldridge.
Portland took an 80-77 lead heading into the final period.
The Blazers’ hopes were quickly diminished, though.
Terry hit a 3 for Dallas, and Brandon Bass scored twice to put the Mavericks up by seven.
‘‘They didn’t let up,’’ Roy said. ‘‘We thought we had them down and they weren’t down. Coach (Nate McMillan) said they outhustled us, and you can’t dispute that.’’
L.A. Lakers ...................92
Boston ........................ 83
Kobe Bryant had 27 points and nine rebounds, Pau Gasol scored seven of his 20 points in the final 3 minutes, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat Boston 92-83 on Thursday to snap the Celtics’ franchise-record streak at 19 games.
The game was the first between the teams since the Celtics won Game 6 of the NBA finals in June for their first championship in 22 years and league-high 17th overall.
The Celtics dropped to 27-3, while the Lakers improved to 24-5 with their 12th straight home win.
They’re 15-1 at home overall.
The victory was the 1,000th for Phil Jackson, enabling him to become the sixth coach in NBA history to reach that milestone.
The 63-year-old Jackson has a career record of 1,000-423 in 17-plus seasons as coach of the Chicago Bulls and Lakers.
Kevin Garnett led Boston with 22 points and nine rebounds, and Paul Pierce had 20 points and 10 rebounds.
