The Washington Wizards remained winless on the road with Monday's 102-92 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, who got 24 points from Dirk Nowitzki.
The road loss was Washington's 24th straight to start the season. Only the 1992-93 Mavericks (0-29) and 1974-75 New Orleans Jazz (0-28) have started seasons with more consecutive road losses.
Tyson Chandler had 18 points and 18 rebounds and Jason Kidd added 11 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds for Dallas, which completed a perfect four-game homestand and won its fifth straight overall. The Mavericks play five of their next six and 20 of their next 30 games on the road.
Rashard Lewis and Nick Young scored 18 points apiece and rookie John Wall had 17 and 10 assists for Washington, which has the longest road slide since the Chicago Bulls lost 25 straight in 2000.
With the help of a 3-pointer and three-point play by Lewis, the Wizards used a 10-0 run early in the second quarter to take a 35-23 lead. But Nowitzki scored seven straight points to help the Mavericks chip away and take a 50-49 halftime lead.
The lead was six in the fourth quarter when Nowitzki provided some cushion when he converted a baseline drive and got fouled. Washington coach Flip Saunders argued and received a technical foul, and Nowitzki knocked down both free throws for a 91-81 advantage with 6:51 left.
The Wizards missed three of four free throws in the last two minutes that could have pulled them within one possession. Kidd made them pay with a 3-pointer with 49 seconds left that restored a 100-92 lead.
Washington | Dallas | |
Rashard Lewis 18 | Scoring | Dirk Nowitzki 24 |
John Wall 10 | Assists | Jason Kidd 11 |
Andray Blatche 13 | Rebounds | Tyson Chandler 18 |
Andray Blatche 8 | Free Throws Made | Tyson Chandler 8 |
Yi Jianlian 4 | Steals | Jason Kidd 1 |
JaVale McGee 2 | Blocks | Brian Cardinal 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Washington | 92 | 39.5 | 5-14 | 19-31 | 18 | 45 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
Dallas | 102 | 47.9 | 9-22 | 25-37 | 27 | 50 | 4 | 2 | 14 |