Harrison Barnes scored nine consecutive points late in the fourth quarter, and Dennis Smith Jr. helped ice the game at the free-throw line as the Dallas Mavericks survived the Charlotte Hornets for a 115-111 win Wednesday night at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.
Barnes' turnaround jumper with 6:10 remaining broke a 94-all tie and sparked a 16-10 run to put the Mavericks ahead 110-104 with 1:18 left. He finished with a team-high 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Charlotte (15-24) fought back to pull within 111-110 on Kemba Walker's three-point play with 31.7 seconds to go, but Smith hit a pair of free throws with 15.7 ticks left to restore a three-point lead, and the Mavs held on from there.
Walker finished with a game-high 41 points on 16-of-28 shooting.
Smith, a native of Fayetteville, N.C., who played college hoops at N.C. State, sank 5 of 6 free throws in the final 2:32 and finished with 15 points and six assists in his first regular-season NBA game in his home state.
"Not exactly Fayetteville, but (being) in North Carolina it's a great feeling," Smith, the ninth overall pick in last year's draft, told reporters before the game.
Yogi Ferrell had 22 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 19 as Dallas (15-28) won its second straight game following a three-game skid.
Dwight Howard totaled 15 points and 12 rebounds, Jeremy Lamb scored 12 and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 11 for Charlotte, which had won two in a row.
Charlotte's Cody Zeller missed his 16th consecutive game with a meniscus tear in his left knee.
Dallas led 83-77 entering the fourth quarter. Lamb's 3-pointer tied the game at 88 with 9:10 remaining to cap an 11-5 quarter-opening run for Charlotte.
The Mavericks broke the game open with a 39-point second period, its fifth such quarter of the season, to give Dallas a 59-52 halftime lead. Charlotte was ahead 28-20 after one.
Charlotte plays the second leg of its three-game homestand Friday against Utah. Dallas returns home to face the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.
--Field Level Media