Mavericks 98, Suns 89
Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points and Jason Terry added 18, leading the host Dallas Mavericks to a 98-89 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.
Dallas, which handed Oklahoma City its first loss of the season on Monday, has won two in a row for the first time this season. Lamar Odom added 15 points for the Mavericks (3-4).
Marcin Gortat paced Phoenix (2-4) with 22 points. Steve Nash scored 15 points and had 12 assists.
Nowitzki, playing in his 1,00th career game, also had seven assists and six rebounds.
Terry's jumper 15 seconds into the second quarter broke a 25-25 tie and put Dallas ahead for good. The Mavericks stretched the margin to 10 points midway through the period and led comfortably for the remainder of the game.
Terry's 3-pointer beat the third-quarter buzzer and gave Dallas a 77-66 lead. Terry hit three more 3-pointers early in the fourth period, putting the Mavericks ahead 92-71.
Phoenix cut the lead to 94-84 with 3:37 remaining, but baskets by Vince Carter and Shawn Marion, who was questionable for the game because of the flu, ended any hopes for a comeback.
Dallas has beaten Phoenix six straight times and has won nine of the last 10 meetings. The Suns' last win in the series came on Jan. 28, 2010.