Texas NBA Capsules: Howard scores 24 in Magic win over San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO - Now that they look at the standings and see they stack up favorably with recent NBA finalists, the young Orlando Magic feel they've done some growing up lately.

Dwight Howard scored 24 points, Jameer Nelson had eight of his 22 in the final two minutes, and the Magic beat the San Antonio Spurs 105-98 on Sunday night.

Hedo Turkoglu added 21 points for the Magic (30-8), who are tied with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers for the NBA lead in victories. Orlando has won four straight and 13 of 15 games.

"It feels good," Howard said. "We've been playing great basketball, but to come here and beat a great San Antonio team says a lot about our growth and maturity."

The Celtics beat the Lakers in last season's finals, and the Spurs won the title two years ago. The Magic won both meetings with the Spurs this season.

The Magic were 14-of-22 from 3-point territory.

"They did a great job from the 3-point line and really knocked them down," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose team has the best 3-point percentage in the NBA this season but was 3-of-13 on Sunday. "Some nights we don't shoot as well or get as many shots. That's just the way it is, and that was the difference."

Tony Parker scored 31 points for the Spurs (24-12), but missed a pair of layups in the final two minutes as San Antonio closed the game by missing six of seven shots.

"We knew the team that made the stops toward the end was going to win," Howard said. "We came up with some good stops and got a good win."

In the matchup against Howard, Tim Duncan had 18 points, hitting 7-of-14 from the floor and all four foul shots along with 10 rebounds. Howard was 9-of-12, going 6-of-7 on free throws and grabbed 14 rebounds.

The Spurs had won four straight. They next meet Los Angeles on Wednesday for the first time since the Lakers' five-game victory in the Western Conference finals.

Like they did last year against the Lakers, the Spurs had little left late in the game. It was tied when Manu Ginobili made a layup with three minutes left. But the Spurs made only one more shot from the floor the rest of the night.

The Magic went up 100-96 with 1:56 to go when they sandwiched 3-pointers from Nelson and J.J. Redick around a pair of free throws by Ginobili.

It was 102-96 when Nelson connected from 16 feet with 1:27 left, but the Spurs were down only 102-98 when Matt Bonner hit a jumper on the next trip down the court. It was the last shot the Spurs would hit, going 0-for-5 in the final minute.

Parker's missed shots, both on his familiar teardrop runners from inside 6 feet, could have tied the game.

"That's my shot," Parker said. "The teardrop is my shot, and it didn't go in."

The Magic took a 74-72 lead to the fourth quarter when Turkoglu made two free throws after a hand-check foul was called against the Spurs' Bruce Bowen.

The Spurs went ahead 77-74 on Ginobili's 3-pointer less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, but the Magic rallied to grab a three-point lead after consecutive 3-pointers from Keith Bogans, who had just checked into the game for the first time, and Lewis.

It was the first shot Lewis made since the first quarter after missing seven in a row.

Nelson made it 82-79 with 8:22 to go when he drew a shooting foul on Parker and made both free throws.

The Magic were 8-of-11 on 3-pointers in the first half, including one that had Popovich doubling over at midcourt after he watched Ginobili fail to get past a screen and defend Nelson.

Nelson hit the 24-footer with a second left for a 55-50 halftime lead, right after Parker had cut through the lane for a tough layup to make it a two-point game with less than 10 seconds left.

Parker provided most of San Antonio's second-quarter offense. He was 5-of-6 from the floor for 10 points, and at halftime he had 18 points and six assists.

Lewis was 0-for-4 in the second quarter, but he got Orlando started off on the right foot with a 4-for-4 first quarter. He and Howard combined to open the game by hitting eight of their first nine.<

Notes: The 34 first-quarter points scored by Orlando were the second-most the Spurs have given up in a quarter behind the 35 points Oklahoma City scored in the fourth quarter of a 109-104 loss to San Antonio on Dec. 14. ... Magic coach Stan Van Gundy was whistled for a technical foul while arguing in the third quarter. ... Duncan was called for a delay-of-game warning after his offensive rebound off Ginobili's miss was called a loose-ball foul during a one-point game late in the third quarter. ... After the Spurs play the Lakers at home on Wednesday, they will play three straight and 14 of their next 17 games on the road.

Kings beat Mavericks for first win of 2009

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento Kings will take whatever bright spots they can find. Beating a short-handed Dallas team counts as one.

Kevin Martin scored 21 points, Francisco Garcia had seven during a key fourth-quarter stretch, and the Kings ended their five-game losing streak with a 102-95 victory over the Mavericks on Sunday night.

"We know the state of this team right now and we realize we went through some injuries this year," Martin said. "Right now we're getting everybody together and hopefully we'll continue to play team ball and nights like this will keep on happening."

Beno Udrih had 16 points, five rebounds and six assists for Sacramento, which hadn't won since beating the Los Angeles Clippers 92-90 on Dec. 30. John Salmons and Brad Miller added 13 points apiece for the Kings in only their second win in the last 10 games against the Mavericks.

Sacramento hasn't had many nights worth remembering at all this season. After opening the year 4-5, the Kings dropped 13 of their next 15 which led to the firing of coach Reggie Theus in mid-December.

They hadn't fared much better under interim coach Kenny Natt, either, and went into Sunday having lost 11 of 12 overall including a 119-115 overtime loss to Miami on Friday when Sacramento blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead.

"Obviously this was a better night for me and the team," said Natt, who is 3-11 since replacing Theus. "We've been working hard and coming close for quite a while now. Fortunately enough tonight we were able to sustain it and hang in there."

Jason Terry scored a season-high 33 points for Dallas, including 15 in the third quarter. Dirk Nowitzki added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Mavericks, who were coming off their most lopsided defeat of the season, a 128-100 loss to Phoenix on Friday.

Sacramento trailed 78-77 heading into the fourth quarter but opened the final period with a 17-4 run to take control for good.

The two-game slide was the first time Dallas has lost consecutive games since dropping five straight in early November.

"We had a meltdown on all fronts in Phoenix but tonight was an all-out effort," Terry said. "We put ourselves in position to win but they wanted it more than us. When you are not making shots and getting stops, you are going to lose the game."

The Mavericks were without third-leading scorer Josh Howard, who sprained his left wrist during Friday's loss. Howard was injured after crashing to the floor while going for a rebound. X-rays were negative and he is listed as day-to-day but scheduled to visit a doctor on Monday.

Martin went into the game averaging 29.7 points in his previous six games. He had missed the first meeting with Dallas earlier this season with an ankle injury.

He had 12 points during the third quarter to offset Terry, who was starting in place of Howard. Martin added four points in the fourth quarter, including a free throw with 29 seconds left that put the Kings ahead 101-95.

Dallas had three shots in the closing seconds but couldn't convert and lost to Sacramento for the first time since last Jan. 14.

"It was a good team win," Martin said. "But we need to get to two instead of worrying about one. We need to get to two and then hopefully that translates into three, four and five."

Without Howard, the Mavericks were hoping to get more production out of Nowitzki and Terry, both of whom have struggled in recent games.

Terry broke out of his slump but Nowitzki's problems continued. He missed seven of his first 10 shots in the first half, including numerous open looks, and finished 6-of-18. In his last three games, the Mavericks' leading scorer is averaging 14.6 points while shooting only 32.5 percent.

Terry had just eight points in the first half but went 7-of-9 from the floor in the third quarter, when he scored 15 of the Mavericks' first 19 points.

Martin kept the Kings close with 12 of his points, including a 3-pointer with 29 seconds left, to give Sacramento a 77-76 lead before Jose Barea's driving layup regained the lead for Dallas heading onto the fourth quarter.

Dallas went just 3-of-20 from 3-point range compared to 8-of-16 for Sacramento.

"Our undoing was the 3-point line," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "It's just disappointing. We played well to get a lead and just couldn't hold it."

Notes: Jason Kidd fell hard on his right elbow in the fourth quarter and was in noticeable pain late in the game but said it is nothing serious. ... Sacramento hasn't won consecutive games since winning three straight from Nov. 5-9. ... The Mavericks tied a season-high with 10 blocks. The Kings had just one. ... Seattle Seahawks quarterback Seneca Wallace, a native of Sacramento, attended the game and sat courtside.