Mavericks 98, Pistons 89
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- J.J. Barea poured in 29 points and the Dallas Mavericks won their third straight game by cooling off the Detroit Pistons 98-89 on Friday at The Palace.
Barea made 13 of 23 field goal tries while coming up three points shy of his career high.
Dirk Nowitzki supplied 19 points for Dallas (38-38), which began the night tied for seventh place in the Western Conference standings. Wesley Matthews had 17 points and Devin Harris chipped in 13 for the Mavericks.
Marcus Morris' season-high 31 points and 12 rebounds led the Pistons (40-36), who had won six of their last seven games. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 15 points, Tobias Harris added 14 points and Reggie Jackson chipped in 11 points but shot 3-for-15 from the field. Andre Drummond posted his 63rd double-double with 12 points and 17 rebounds.
The Pistons erased the Mavs' 15-point halftime lead in just over seven minutes. Detroit pulled even at 58-all with an 11-0 outburst, including 3-pointers from Jackson, Harris and Morris.
Dallas then finished the quarter with a 13-3 run, which included two Nowitzki jumpers and a pair of Matthews 3-pointers.
Early in the fourth, Morris' step-back jumper completed an 11-2 Pistons outburst to cut the Mavs' advantage to 77-75. Barea rescued Dallas by scoring eight of its next nine points to make it 86-77.
The Pistons got as close as four but a Matthews three-point play gave Dallas a 93-85 lead with 2:38 remaining. Detroit couldn't mount another comeback.
Barea lit up the Pistons' backcourt for 19 first-half points as the Mavericks established a 51-36 halftime lead.
Barea went 9-for-11 from the field and sparked a 15-0 run at the start of the second quarter with eight points. His counterpart, Jackson, was blanked in the first half, missing his seven field-goal attempts while committing four turnovers.
Detroit was held to 11 second-quarter points, its lowest output in any quarter this season. It shot 4-for-21 during those 12 minutes while making six turnovers. The only player keeping the Pistons in the game was Morris, who had 22 points by the break.
NOTES: Dallas PG Deron Williams, who said during the morning shootaround that he has a sports hernia, missed his fifth consecutive game. "I don't know of a timetable," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "You're talking about a guy who's one of our top two players." One of his backups, Raymond Felton, also sat out with a right groin strain. ... Detroit lost its last four home games to Dallas. ... The Pistons entered the game with 25 home victories, their most since they had 34 during the 2007-08 season. ... Detroit C Andre Drummond has grabbed at least 15 rebounds in 40 games. ... Dallas averaged 25.3 assists in its past 22 games. "They probably have more point guards on the roster than anybody in the league," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. "It's a challenge to guard those guys off the dribble and keep them out of the paint."