Mavericks 107, Hornets 89: Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 points and became the 17th NBA player to reach 25,000 in his career to lift visiting Dallas.
Shawn Marion had 21 points and Brandan Wright and Vince Carter contributed 16 each as the Mavericks reached .500 (40-40) for the first time since Dec. 12. Dallas' players vowed in early February not to shave until the team got back to the .500 mark.
Ryan Anderson had 20 points and 12 rebounds for New Orleans, which fell behind by as many as 27 points in the first half en route to its fourth straight defeat and eighth in the last 10 games.
The Mavericks spotted the Hornets a 3-0 lead before running off 11 straight points and taking a 33-19 lead after one quarter. Nowitzki, who entered needing 10 points to reach 25,000, hit the milestone basket with just over 6 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter.
The Hornets trimmed a 22-point halftime deficit to a dozen and trailed 81-67 after three quarters. Nowitzki quickly sealed the outcome by scoring eight points in an 11-4 spurt to open the fourth, pushing Dallas' lead to 92-71.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Wright scored half of his 16 points in the third quarter despite receiving three stitches in his left cheek at halftime. ... Eric Gordon scored 15 points and Robin Lopez had 10 and 13 rebounds for New Orleans, which played its final home game as the Hornets. The team is switching its name to the Pelicans for next season. ... Nowitzki became only the ninth player with 25,000 points and 9,000 rebounds.
Dallas | New Orleans | |
Shawn Marion 21 | Scoring | Ryan Anderson 20 |
Shawn Marion 6 | Assists | Brian Roberts 6 |
Vince Carter 7 | Rebounds | Robin Lopez 13 |
Dirk Nowitzki 4 | Free Throws Made | Xavier Henry 8 |
Chris Kaman 2 | Steals | Al-Farouq Aminu 1 |
Vince Carter 2 | Blocks | Ryan Anderson 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Dallas | 107 | 52.3 | 9-21 | 8-8 | 27 | 41 | 6 | 6 | 9 |
New Orleans | 89 | 37.9 | 9-22 | 14-18 | 22 | 47 | 2 | 4 | 11 |