Mavericks 107, Magic 102
Dirk Nowitzki had 25 points and eight rebounds and Monta Ellis added 21 points as Dallas held off visiting Orlando.
Devin Harris had 12 points and five assists and Rajon Rondo had 11 assists for the Mavericks, who have won three straight games and are tied with the Los Angeles Clippers for fifth place in the Western Conference race. Nowitzki was 5-of-6 from 3-point range and Dallas was 13-of-31 overall.
Victor Oladipo scored 19 points and Maurice Harkless added 18 points and four steals for the Magic, who have lost six straight games and 10 of their last 12. Elfrid Payton had 15 points and 12 assists, Nikola Vucevic had 12 points and nine rebounds and Channing Frye tallied 11 points.
Ben Gordon scored five straight points to help Orlando move within 10 points early in the fourth quarter and the Magic later pulled within 97-93 on a basket by Oladipo with 3:17 remaining. Payton’s 3-pointer brought Orlando within 101-98 with 2:10 remaining and he added two free throws to make it a one-point game with one minute left before Harris hit two free throws and the Mavericks tacked on four more to hold off the Magic.
Dallas was 13-of-20 shooting in the opening quarter while taking a 31-23 lead and stretched the lead to 19 in the second quarter before settling for a 65-48 advantage. Nowitzki’s 3-pointer early in the third quarter make it a 22-point margin before the Magic responded with the next nine to trail by 13 but Dallas took an 86-70 lead into the final stanza.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Orlando held a 54-36 edge in points in the paint. … Rondo committed eight of his team’s 20 turnovers. … Magic F Tobias Harris (ankle) sat out after being injured in Tuesday’s game against the Houston Rockets.