NBA Capsules: Nowitzki's 29-point fourth quarter fuels Mavs

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks’ offense barely had a pulse for most of three quarters. Then Dirk Nowitzki decided to take control.

Nowitzki scored a club-record 29 of his 40 points during a frantic fourth-quarter comeback and the Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz 96-85 on Tuesday night.

Nowitzki broke the franchise record of 24 points in any quarter set by Mark Aguirre against Denver on March 24, 1984.

"It was an ugly game," Nowitzki said. "We couldn’t get anything going for three quarters. We were slow. We were looking for a spark offensively and I was able to do that tonight."

Dallas was down 72-56 after Utah’s Wes Matthews hit a layup with 9:51 left. The Mavericks later trailed by 13 before Nowitzki’s three-point play triggered a 19-6 run capped by his layup with 2:41 remaining to tie it at 83.

Nowitzki’s short jumper on Dallas’ next possession put the Mavericks in front for good, 85-83 with 2:05 left.

Carlos Boozer’s basket with 3:49 to play had given the Jazz an 83-78 edge, but Utah wouldn’t score again until Boozer’s dunk with 35 seconds remaining.

Nowitzki left to a standing ovation with 28 seconds to play.

After three quarters, the Mavericks managed 52 points and were shooting 32 percent from the floor.

But in the final quarter, Nowitzki took an aggressive approach, driving to the basket on almost every possession. He went 7-for-8 from the field, hit all 14 free throws and pulled down five rebounds.

"We just kept feeding him," Dallas’ Shawn Marion said. "He had it going. He was unstoppable."

The NBA record for points in a fourth quarter is Wilt Chamberlain’s 31 for Philadelphia on March 2, 1962 against the New York Knicks. The mark for points in any quarter is 33 shared by San Antonio’s George Gervin (April 9, 1978) and Denver’s Carmelo Anthony (Dec. 10, 2008).

"Twenty-five years in this, I’ve seen a lot of amazing things happen," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "To be honest, it wasn’t looking great, but we just needed a couple good things to happen offensively for us."

Deron Williams scored 22 points and Mehmet Okur added 14 points and 14 rebounds for Utah (1-3). The Jazz lost its sixth straight in Dallas.

Jason Kidd had 19 points — five on 3-pointers— for the Mavericks (3-1).

Nowitzki did most of his fourth-quarter damage against Okur. Utah coach Jerry Sloan wanted to use the quicker Boozer to defend Nowitzki down the stretch, but Boozer was saddled with five fouls.

"Obviously, there wasn’t anything we were able to do with Nowitzki," Sloan said. "He was sensational. He made every basket and got to the free throw line, but the most important thing he did was he was able to take the ball to the basket."

Nowitzki went 12-for-22 from the field, 15-for-16 from the foul line, and added 11 rebounds and five blocked shots.

Dallas was able to follow up on victories over the Lakers and Clippers in a two-game weekend trip to Los Angeles with its first home win.

Williams had 12 third-quarter points as the Jazz ended the quarter with a 22-6 spurt for a 67-52 lead before Utah’s collapse down the stretch.

"It’s tough, because we were up by 15 with 8 minutes to go," Boozer said. "The next thing you know it was free throw, free throw, free throw, free throw."

Utah was up 37-35 after a tough first half for both offenses. The Jazz shot 34 percent from the field and the Mavericks hit 32 percent in the opening 24 minutes.

NOTES: F Drew Gooden (right rib cage muscle) is out for Dallas. ... Mavericks owner Mark Cuban had no comment on claims that Gooden made insensitive comments to a Clippers fan after Saturday night’s game. The fan, actor and comic Chris Wylde, was heckling the Mavericks bench throughout the game. ... Cuban also declined to comment on developmental coach Popeye Jones’ DWI charge on Sunday night in a Dallas suburb. Jones was not in the arena for Tuesday night’s game. ... Kyle Korver (left knee) and C.J. Miles (left thumb) are out for Utah. ... Nowitzki has 20 or more points in 29 straight games.

Spurs’ Ginobili has rabies shot after catching bat

Manu Ginobili has decided to stay away from bats in the future.

The San Antonio Spurs star says on his Facebook page that he had to be vaccinated for rabies after catching a bat and removing it from the court during a victory over Sacramento on Halloween.

Ginobili posted Monday that he doesn’t know if the bat had rabies but he had to get vaccinated to make sure he was safe. He also encouraged people to "avoid contact with bats, skunks, raccoons, rats and animals like that."

The bat swooped into the AT&T Center on Saturday night and descended onto the court late in the first period. The bat circled and left only to return — briefly.

Ginobili swatted it out of the air with a bare hand and carried the creature off the court to thunderous cheers.

Cavs’ West faces more weapons charges in Maryland

WASHINGTON — Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West was indicted Tuesday on additional weapons and traffic charges stemming from his Sept. 17 arrest for speeding on a motorcycle and carrying multiple weapons.

The eight-count indictment sheds no new light on why West, 26, was riding a motorcycle on the Capital Beltway in Prince George’s County, Md., at 10 p.m. with two loaded handguns and a loaded shotgun. Prosecutors on Wednesday added an 8 1/2-inch Bowie knife to the list of concealed weapons West was carrying.

It’s illegal in Maryland to carry concealed weapons and to transport loaded handguns.

West was indicted on two counts of carrying a dangerous weapon, two counts of carrying a handgun, two counts of transporting a handgun, and one count each of reckless driving and negligent driving. The charges are all misdemeanors. Each of the weapons counts carries a penalty of up to three years in prison.

West was initially charged with just two counts of carrying a handgun and with driving in excess of reasonable and prudent speed.

Court records don’t list a lawyer for West. His agent, Noah Croom, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

West has been treated in the past for bipolar disorder, and last week his wife filed a domestic violence report against him in Ohio. No charges have been filed in that incident.

West, who could still face a league suspension over the charges in Maryland, made his season debut during Saturday night’s 90-79 win against Charlotte, scoring 13 points in 24 minutes.

After the arrest, West reported to training camp on time but missed the team’s first four practices without an excuse. He returned, but then left the team for a week to deal with personal matters. He missed all eight preseason games and Cleveland’s first three regular-season games.

West, who lives in Brandywine, Md., was riding a Can-Am Spyder motorcycle when he cut off a police officer on the beltway in Upper Marlboro, authorities said. The officer pulled him over, and the weapons were discovered.

Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey said West will likely be arraigned by the end of the week, and the case could go to trial early next year.

-- Sarah Karush

Bucks’ Redd expects to miss 2 weeks

CHICAGO — Milwaukee Bucks guard Michael Redd expects to miss about two weeks because of a strained tendon in his left knee.

The Bucks had said Monday he would miss at least that much time and Redd, who was injured on a dunk in Saturday’s home opener against Detroit, said Tuesday he should be able to return right around then.

He said the injury is "nothing totally too severe" and there’s no connection between this and the season-ending one he suffered last Jan. 24, when he tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in the same knee.

The former All-Star accompanied the Bucks to Chicago for Tuesday’s game and was to be examined by Bulls physician Dr. Brian Cole, who operated on him last March.

With Redd out, rookie Jodie Meeks was active for the first time.

The Bulls were without forward Tyrus Thomas, who was sick at home. Coach Vinny Del Negro said Thomas was sent home from the morning shootaround after seeing trainer Fred Tedeschi and examined by a doctor.

The illness comes on the heels of Thomas staying on the sideline for the entire fourth quarter of a close loss at Miami on Sunday and the deadline for a contract extension passing on Monday. Del Negro said he didn’t see Thomas on Tuesday and added if "there’s something on his mind, he knows where to find me."

Nets F Yi out indefinitely with right knee sprain

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New Jersey Nets say an MRI performed on forward Yi Jianlian confirmed that he has sprained a ligament in his right knee.

The Nets said Tuesday that Yi will begin rehabilitation immediately and there is no timetable for his return.

Yi was injured in Monday night’s 79-68 loss at Charlotte.

Yi was near the basket when Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace fell and rolled into his leg midway through the third quarter. Yi crumpled to the floor and put no pressure on his right leg as he left.

The 22-year-old Yi, who played for China’s Olympic team, came to the Nets in a 2008 trade.

Howard briefly leaves with shoulder injury

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard briefly left Tuesday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons with an apparent shoulder injury.

Howard was driving to the basket early in the third quarter when he was fouled by Rodney Stuckey and landed hard on his right shoulder. He stayed on the floor for several moments before walking off the court in obvious pain.

He stayed on the bench until the next stoppage in play, at which point he went to the Orlando locker room with a trainer. He returned several minutes later, and re-entered the game with 6:19 left in the third.

Pistons’ Prince sidelined with back injury

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Detroit Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince will miss Tuesday’s game against the Orlando Magic with a back injury, ending his consecutive-games streak at 496.

Prince will be sidelined for at least three games before his status is re-evaluated this weekend. His games-played streak was second among active players, trailing Andre Miller, and his games-started streak of 439 was the longest active run.

Prince last missed a game on April 13, 2003 — during his rookie season — against Memphis.

Detroit’s Richard Hamilton (ankle) missed his third straight game.

Daequan Cook out again for Heat

MIAMI — Miami swingman Daequan Cook is out for the Heat’s game against Phoenix because of problems with his strained right shoulder.

Cook said on Tuesday he’ll also miss Miami’s game Wednesday at Washington, adding that he was "very worried" that the injury wasn’t getting better. He shot 1 for 9 in Miami’s win at Indiana on Friday, trying to play through the injury, and hasn’t been on the court since.

Cook was the NBA’s 3-point shootout champion last season.

Barbosa out for Suns

MIAMI — Phoenix guard Leandro Barbosa missed the Suns’ game Tuesday night against the Miami Heat with an injured right wrist.

Barbosa played only 14 minutes in the Phoenix’s win Sunday against Minnesota. His status for the Suns’ game Wednesday in Orlando is unclear.

Through three games, Barbosa was averaging 15.7 points on 56 percent shooting.

Elsewhere

L.A. Clippers owner agrees to pay $2.73 million

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Clippers owner and real estate mogul Donald Sterling has agreed to pay a record $2.73 million to settle allegations by the government that he refused to rent apartments to Hispanics, blacks and to families with children, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.

The Justice Department sued Sterling in August 2006 for allegations of housing discrimination in the Koreatown area of Los Angeles. Other defendants were Sterling’s wife, Rochelle, and the Sterling Family Trust.

The defendants allegedly made statements to employees indicating that African-Americans and Hispanics were not desirable tenants.

Court filings indicated that Sterling rented to fewer blacks and Hispanics in Koreatown than would be expected based on demographics, according to the Justice Department.

In settling the lawsuit, however, the defendants denied any liability.

Robert Platt, an attorney for Sterling and the trust, issued a statement saying his clients denied any acts of discrimination.

"The fair housing attorneys could not identify a single individual who was wrongfully denied the right to rent an apartment," he said. The trust has a zero-tolerance policy regarding housing discrimination, he said.

However, insurers for the trust decided it was cheaper to settle the case than to keep fighting, Platt said. Those insurers will cover the settlement.

Sterling manages 119 apartment buildings with more than 5,000 apartment units in Los Angeles County.

"Housing is a basic human need, and yet decades after passage of the Fair Housing Act, far too many still encounter barriers like discrimination," said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the civil rights division.

"The magnitude of this settlement should send a message to all landlords that we will vigorously pursue violations of the Fair Housing Act," he said.

The settlement, which will be considered by a Los Angeles federal judge, also covers two related lawsuits by former tenants at one of the Sterling properties. In those cases, a black family and an interracial family with children contended that private yards that had been part of their apartment were demolished because of their race, the Justice Department said.

Under the settlement, Sterling and the other defendants would pay a $100,000 civil penalty to the government and would pay $2.63 million into a fund to pay monetary damages to tenants who were harmed.

The Justice Department’s previous record settlement for discrimination in the area of rental housing was $2.2 million in a 1996 case.

Four years ago, Sterling agreed to pay an undisclosed sum and nearly $5 million in attorney fees to settle an unrelated 2003 lawsuit that claimed he tried to drive non-Korean tenants out of apartments he bought in Koreatown. The lawsuit was brought by the nonprofit Housing Rights Center and 18 other plaintiffs.

That ruling came two weeks after a jury found in Sterling’s favor in a lawsuit filed by a former property manager, Sumner Davenport, who claimed he sexually harassed her. Davenport also alleged that Sterling’s companies had racially prejudiced employment and housing practices.

Sterling, the Clippers and the NBA are being sued by former Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor, who claims he was forced out of his job a year ago by age and racial discrimination. The team said he resigned. Baylor, a 75-year-old Hall of Fame player who is black, was the team’s GM for 22 years.

Sterling is best known for presiding over the Clippers, who won just 19 games last season and have had two winning seasons in the last 30 years.

-- Robert Jablon

Dave Bing elected to full term as Detroit mayor

DETROIT — Professional basketball Hall of Famer Dave Bing has been re-elected Detroit mayor.

The 65-year-old Democrat defeated accountant Tom Barrow in Tuesday’s nonpartisan general election.

Bing’s NBA career lasted 12 seasons, nine with the Detroit Pistons.

As mayor, he has laid off workers and demanded a 10 percent wage cut to help address the city’s ongoing budget deficit.

It was the fourth time Detroit voters cast ballots this year for mayor.

Bing received the most votes in a February primary and defeated incumbent Ken Cockrel Jr. in a May runoff to complete Kwame Kilpatrick’s second term. Kilpatrick resigned as part of pleas in two criminal cases.

Bing also received the most votes in the August primary.