Matthews drills late 3-pointer to lift Mavericks past Bulls
CHICAGO -- Harrison Barnes scored 20 points, Seth Curry had 18 and Wesley Matthews hit a 3-pointer with 11.7 seconds remaining to lift the Dallas Mavericks to a 99-98 win over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.
J.J. Barea had 12 points for Dallas (14-27), which won its third straight game. Matthews and Deron Williams both finished with 11 points.
Jimmy Butler had 24 points and 12 assists to lead Chicago (21-22), which also got a season-high 21 points from Robin Lopez and 17 from Dwyane Wade. Michael Carter-Williams had 10 points for the Bulls, who saw their two-game winning streak snapped and again fell under .500 for the season.
Matthews' game-winner from the corner gave the Mavericks the lead after Butler hit a jump shot to provide the Bulls with a 98-97 advantage. After Matthews' jumper, Butler wound the clock down in the final seconds but was forced to give the ball up to Wade, who turned 35 on Tuesday. Wade missed a fadeaway jump shot as time expired.
Dirk Nowitzki, who finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, split a pair of free throws with 1:23 remaining to give Dallas a 96-94 lead. But Doug McDermott responded with 59.4 remaining with a short jumper that tied the game.
Barea's 3-point field goal with 8:56 remaining gave Dallas an 85-80 lead. The Bulls, who trailed by double digits in the second half, rallied behind Lopez and Butler to tie the game at 78 on Wade's jump shot with less than a minute gone in the fourth quarter.
Dallas led 54-47 at halftime after falling behind by seven points early on and built a 13-point lead in the third quarter before the Bulls rallied late.
NOTES: Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said before Tuesday's game that F Dirk Nowitzki's progress since returning from a knee injury has been steady, but hasn't "necessarily been fast." Nowitzki entered Tuesday's game averaging 16 points and six rebounds this month. ...C Andrew Bogut (hamstring) and C AJ Hammons were inactive for Dallas. ...Bulls F Taj Gibson missed Tuesday's game with left ankle soreness. Coach Fred Hoiberg said he hopes Gibson is ready to play on Friday against Atlanta. Paul Zipser started in Gibson's place. ...Bulls F Nikola Mirotic was available to play Tuesday after missing four games with the flu. Hoiberg said because Mirotic hasn't practiced in 5-on-5 situations he wouldn't be able to play for long stretches and would have to come back gradually. Mirotic hasn't played since Jan. 9 when he was 1 for 4 from the field in 16 minutes against Oklahoma City.