LOS ANGELES -- Harrison Barnes hit a floater in the lane with 3.7 seconds remaining, and the Dallas Mavericks defeated the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers 90-88 on Friday night at Staples Center.

Barnes finished with 24 points to lead the Mavericks (9-21), who improved to 3-13 on the road with their second consecutive decision. Dirk Nowitzki (right Achilles strain) returned to the Dallas lineup for the first time in almost a month. Nowitzki finished with 17 points and four rebounds in 15 minutes, all in the first half.

Wesley Matthews added 16 points and Deron Williams collected 12 points and nine assists for Dallas.

Jamal Crawford paced the Clippers (22-9) with 26 points, while Austin Rivers scored 16. J.J. Redick contributed 11 points for Los Angeles.

The Clippers played without point guard Chris Paul (left hamstring strain) and Blake Griffin (right knee surgery).

A free throw by Matthews knotted the score again at 88 with 33.9 seconds remaining.

DeAndre Jordan, who had 17 boards to go with seven points, missed a pair of foul shots with 27.4 seconds left that would have given the Clippers the lead.

The two teams traded leads nine ties in the first half. A fadeway jumper by Barnes capped a 9-0 Mavericks' run with 2:02 left in the second quarter for a 45-40 lead.

Consecutive treys by Redick and Raymond Felton, who started in place of the injured Paul, allowed the Clippers to go back on top by one, but Matthews' 3-point jumper gave the advantage back to the Mavericks.

Rivers' 3-pointer just before the horn lifted the Clippers to a 51-50 edge at the break. The Clippers' 3-point shooting bolstered them in the first half, connecting on 10 of 16 attempts (62.5 percent) to 5 of 12 (41.7 percent) for the Mavericks.

Overall, the Clippers converted 13 of 29 (44.8 percent) from behind the arc to 7 of 29 (24.1 percent for the Mavericks.

However, the Clippers committed 20 turnovers (leading to 20 points) to 12 (six points) for the Mavericks.

NOTES: Los Angeles PG Chris Paul, who did not play Friday, has a mild left hamstring strain that shouldn't force him to be sidelined long, coach Doc Rivers said. Rivers isn't sure if Paul, who suffered the injury in the third quarter of Thursday's win over the San Antonio Spurs, will return for Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers. ... Dallas G J.J. Barea had an MRI and the results revealed a lower leg muscle strain, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. Carlisle added that there is no timetable for Barea's return. Barea is listed as day-to-day. ... The Mavericks led the NBA in charges with 40 heading into the contest. ... The Clippers will be the visiting team when they play the Lakers on Christmas night at Staples Center. It will be the first meeting this season between the two clubs. ... The Mavericks visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday.