Texas NBA Capsules: Nowitzki's 41 points lead Mavs over Spurs in OT
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks needed a big game from Dirk Nowitzki to compensate for the loss of three injured starters, and that's exactly what he gave them.
Nowitzki scored 11 of his season-high 41 points in overtime and the Mavericks held on to beat the injury-depleted San Antonio Spurs 99-94 on Wednesday night.
Drew Gooden added 17 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out late in the fourth quarter, and Dallas extended its winning streak to four games.
Gooden, who finished last season with the Spurs before signing with the Mavericks on July 20, started at center with Erick Dampier out because of an unknown illness. Dallas was also without starters Josh Howard and Shawn Marion because of left ankle injuries.
"With Josh out and Marion out, I've just got to keep going offensively and make things happen," Nowitzki said after his 14th career game of 40 or more points.
Nowitzki's three-point play with 2:28 left in overtime put Dallas in front for good, 92-91. After Jason Terry hit a 15-footer, Nowitzki made a 3-pointer on Dallas' next possession to stretch the lead to 97-91, closing out the Spurs.
"He's playing great basketball and (I) think he's one of the top guys right now in the league," Gooden said. "He's really playing at a high level. We need that because of all the injuries we have right now and he's doing everything he can to carry this team."
Nowitzki went 15 for 29 from the field, converted 10 of 12 free throws and pulled down 12 rebounds to continue a big week for the German superstar.
Nowitzki's buzzer-beating overtime jumper gave Dallas a 115-113 victory at Milwaukee on Monday night after he scored 25 in a 95-90 road win over Detroit on Sunday.
"I hoped he was having an off night," said Matt Bonner, one of several Spurs who tried to guard Nowitzki. "I can play perfect defense and jump as high as I can and he can still score."
Tim Duncan had 22 points and 14 rebounds for the Spurs, winless in four road games this season.
Duncan missed all three shots and went scoreless in overtime, and afterward he blamed himself for the loss.
"I know I played badly in the overtime," Duncan said. "The OT wasn't good for us and Dirk really took over and won it for his team."
The Spurs were without starting guard Tony Parker, who aggravated his sprained left ankle in Saturday night's loss to Oklahoma City. San Antonio also lost guard Manu Ginobili in the first quarter due to a strained left groin.
"We definitely needed this win because they were without Ginobili and without Parker," Nowitzki said.
The Spurs certainly missed two of their stars, but the Mavericks were equally short-handed.
"With Tony out and then how Manu went out, it hurt not having them in there," Duncan said. "But I thought we did a good job keeping it together."
With the game tied at 80, Gooden was credited with a basket on a goaltending call against Antonio McDyess with 1:58 left in regulation to put Dallas ahead.
Duncan drove to the basket on the next possession and Gooden picked up his sixth foul. Duncan knocked down both free throws to knot the score at 82 with 31 seconds remaining.
Nowitzki's tip-in 17 seconds later gave Dallas an 84-82 lead, but Duncan's jump-hook with 2.3 seconds remaining drew San Antonio even.
The Mavs had a shot to win in regulation, but Duncan blocked Terry's 19-footer at the buzzer.
NOTES: Ginobili started and scored two points in eight minutes of the first quarter, then went to the locker room before the start of the second quarter and was done for the night. Coach Gregg Popovich said Ginobili would sit out Thursday night's home game against Utah. ... Marion was hurt in a game at Milwaukee on Monday night. ... Howard missed his eighth game as he recovers from offseason surgery. ... Dampier has been undergoing tests to determine the nature of the illness, and results won't be known until next week. ...Thomas made his debut for Dallas after sitting out the first 11 games while he completed his recovery from offseason surgery on his right knee. Thomas, who finished with two points in 14 minutes, was signed as a free agent on July 28.
Spurs' Parker out after aggravating ankle injury
DALLAS — Tony Parker sat out San Antonio's game against Dallas on Wednesday night after aggravating his sprained left ankle, and the Spurs also lost guard Manu Ginobili in the first quarter with a strained left groin.
Parker rolled the ankle in a game at Portland on Nov. 6 and sat out the next two games. Parker was back in the lineup Saturday night in a 101-98 loss to Oklahoma City, scoring 17 points in 32 minutes.
Coach Gregg Popovich said Parker had a setback against Oklahoma City.
"He hasn't been able to practice since then," Popovich said.
George Hill started in Parker's place.
Ginobili started and scored two points in eight minutes of the first quarter, then went to the locker room before the start of the second. The Spurs announced that Ginobili was done for the night.
Three starters out for Mavericks
DALLAS — Josh Howard, Shawn Marion and Erick Dampier are out of the Dallas Mavericks' starting lineup for their game against the San Antonio Spurs because of injuries.
Marion is out Wednesday night with a sprained left ankle sustained at Milwaukee on Monday night. Dampier sat out his third straight game with an unknown illness.
Howard missed his eighth game as he recovers from offseason left ankle surgery.
Dampier has been undergoing tests to determine the nature of the illness, and results won't be known until next week.
Quinton Ross, Drew Gooden and rookie Roddy Beaubois replaced Dallas' injured starters.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said swingman Tim Thomas would make his season debut after missing the first 11 games while recovering from right knee surgery.
Rockets hand Wolves 11th straight loss, 97-84
MINNEAPOLIS — Al Jefferson crumpled to the court in pain, the victim of an inadvertent kick to the head by Houston's Carl Landry in the fourth quarter.
It was a literal rendition of what has been happening on a proverbial level to the Minnesota Timberwolves nearly all season long.
Luis Scola had 20 points and a season-high 16 rebounds in Houston's 97-84 victory over the Timberwolves on Wednesday night, Minnesota's 11th loss in a row.
Trevor Ariza scored 18 points, Chuck Hayes had 11 points and 10 rebounds and the Rockets hit 12 3-pointers to hand the Wolves their seventh straight double-digit loss.
After tight games against the Suns, Clippers and Celtics at the beginning of the month, the Wolves have had too many nights like this where they showed little energy and effort as things unraveled.
"We're going to have to fight, frustrated or not," Jefferson said. "We're getting paid a lot of money to do our job. We can't do it half the time. We have to do it for 48 minutes."
Jefferson returned to the lineup for Minnesota after missing the past two games to be with his grandmother, who died last week. Playing with a heavy heart, Jefferson made his first eight shots and finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
He remained in the game after being kicked in the fourth quarter, but was quiet for the final eight minutes as the Wolves faded.
Their only victory of the season came on opening night against the Nets, who have yet to win a game this season.
"We haven't came close in any of the games since the fourth or fifth game," forward Ryan Gomes said. "After that, every other game has been double-digit losses. We want to get off this losing streak, but it's going to have to come from within."
Houston was playing the second game of a back-to-back and the Timberwolves had three days off in a row. But the Rockets were the team that played with more energy throughout. Houston outrebounded Minnesota 46-36 and scored 29 points fourth quarter to pull away.
"This was such a dangerous game. They had lost 10 in a row, they had a couple of days off to work out some things," Rockets forward Shane Battier said. "They want to win. They're not trying to lose 11 in a row and they know they have to play harder and more together so when you're facing those odds, you have to play a good game. You can't assume you're going to win."
The Rockets, playing without All-Stars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, have been pushing the tempo at Suns-like speed to try and compensate. They entered the night sixth in the NBA in scoring at 103.5 points per game and had topped 100 in 10 straight, their longest streak since 1995-96.
But they looked a little sluggish early on after losing to those Suns on Tuesday night. They had no trouble getting out on the break in their usual style, it was the finishing that was proving difficult.
They committed 14 turnovers in the first half to allow the Timberwolves to hang around.
Minnesota took a 34-29 lead about midway through the second quarter when Damien Wilkins threw down a rebound-dunk. But the veteran swingman was given a technical foul for hanging on the rim, which stunted the momentum and woke up the Rockets.
Houston responded with a 15-2 run, getting eight points from Scola in the spurt and took a 48-42 lead into halftime.
Ramon Sessions had 16 points and five assists for Minnesota, which led 67-66 late in the third quarter. But as usual, the Timberwolves defense failed down the stretch. The Rockets had little problem getting to the basket or finding open jump shots in the fourth, quickly rebuilding a 12-point lead.
"If we are able to win against all of the bottom of the standings teams on a regular basis, we're going to have a lot of wins," Scola said. "We can beat some of the good teams once in a while, especially at home. That's going to put us in the playoffs for sure."
NOTES: Rockets PG Aaron Brooks committed eight of the team's 22 turnovers. ... Timberwolves G Corey Brewer has at least two steals in four straight games. ... Battier has hit a 3-pointer in 24 straight games. ... University of Minnesota coach Tubby Smith was in attendance to watch former Kentucky standout Chuck Hayes play for the Rockets.
-- Jon Krawczynski
