Mavericks 83, Hornets 81
Delonte West collected 16 points and six assists and Lamar Odom scored 16 while starting in place of Dirk Nowitzki as the visiting Dallas Mavericks edged the New Orleans Hornets, 83-81, on Saturday.
Shawn Marion added 14 points and Jason Terry overcame a 3-for-16 shooting effort to finish with 12 points for the Mavericks.
New Orleans has dropped seven straight.
Nowitzki, who is nearly 10 points below his playoff average from last spring at 17.5, blamed his struggles on a knee ailment and the fact that he wasn’t in the best shape of his career. In an effort to not exaggerate any injury, Dallas has decided to give its superstar four games off to improve his conditioning.
The Mavericks came out of the locker room on fire, turning a 41-41 halftime score into a 53-41 lead just over three minutes into the third quarter. The burst started with a layup and two dunks and finished from long range, with Odom and West each burying a 3-pointer.
The Hornets put together a similar run at the beginning of the fourth, using a 11-2 spurt to close the gap to 66-64. They would draw to within a point twice in the final 1:06 but never got over the hump as West and Terry each hit a pair of free throws in the last 14 ticks.
Emeka Okafor led the way for New Orleans with 16 points and 17 rebounds.