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Mavericks cool off Hornets to end five-game skid

 
Published March 15, 2016

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Chandler Parsons had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Mavericks snapped the Hornets' season-high seven-game winning streak with a 107-96 victory Monday night.

Dirk Nowitzki added 23 points and 11 rebounds for Dallas, which moved back above .500 after losing five straight games. Deron Williams had 15 points.

Kemba Walker had 25 points and nine assists, Nicolas Batum scored 20 points and Marvin Williams added 19 for the Hornets.

Dallas, which was 3-of-20 on 3-pointers in the first three quarters, hit 6 of 10 3s in the fourth quarter.

After averaging more than 36 points in the first quarter in its previous three games, Charlotte shot 27 percent from the field and 43 percent on free throws in the first half to fall behind 52-33.

The Hornets battled back to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Walker made 3s on Charlotte's first two possessions of the fourth quarter to tie it and added two free throws to put the Hornets up 73-71.

But Nowitzki hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Mavericks the lead for good and ignite an 18-6 run. The Mavs shot 65 percent in the fourth quarter.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS: Reserve Doug McDermott scored 29 to lead the visiting Bulls to their ninth straight victory over the Raptors, 109-107. Chicago swept Toronto in the series for the second straight season, handing the Raptors their second loss in their last 16 games at home. Toronto's last win against Chicago was on Dec. 31, 2013. Chicago's Jimmy Butler scored 13 on 5-of-18 shooting after missing three games because of knee soreness.

TESTS FOR SPURS AWAIT: The Spurs aren't the only team that knows how to put together a winning streak in San Antonio.

The Clippers did it last spring in the playoffs, and they get the first crack this week at ending the Spurs' 41-game regular-season run at home. If San Antonio wins that one, Golden State might get a shot Saturday at trying to end the third-longest home winning streak in NBA history.

The Warriors arrive for a nationally televised Saturday matchup in prime time having lost 32 straight regular-season games there and having never beaten Tim Duncan in the regular season. Their most recent victory, on Feb. 14, 1997, was a few months before he was drafted.

San Antonio could tie Chicago for the second-longest streak in NBA history by sweeping the Clippers tonight, Portland on Thursday and Golden State on Saturday. The Spurs beat the Clippers at home this season, but the Clippers got them twice last season — winning Games 4 and 6 at the AT&T Center in a first-round series then eliminating the Spurs in Game 7 at home.

"This is the best time of the year. These are the best tests that we can have to prepare us for the playoffs," guard Danny Green said. "Joking with (newly signed) Kevin Martin earlier, he thought he was going to come in and get some warmup games, but it's probably the toughest part of the schedule for us."

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AROUND THE LEAGUE: In the host Heat's 124-119 victory over the Nuggets, Hassan Whiteside had double-figure rebounds off the bench for the 13th consecutive game, the longest such streak since Paul Silas in 1975.

Bulls 109, Raptors 107

CHICAGO (109): Butler 5-18 3-4 13, Mirotic 5-12 4-4 17, Gibson 6-8 1-1 13, Moore 8-11 0-0 17, Holiday 2-4 0-0 5, McDermott 9-11 7-8 29, Snell 1-4 0-0 2, Portis 3-6 0-0 6, Felicio 0-1 0-0 0, Brooks 2-8 3-3 7. Totals 41-83 18-20 109.

TORONTO (107): Johnson 0-3 0-2 0, Scola 2-5 0-0 4, Valanciunas 3-3 2-2 8, Lowry 10-20 11-13 33, DeRozan 10-22 7-7 27, Ross 1-4 0-0 3, Biyombo 3-5 0-0 6, Joseph 2-8 2-2 6, Patterson 4-9 2-2 13, Powell 0-2 0-0 0, Thompson 2-2 3-3 7. Totals 37-83 27-31 107.

Chicago 34 24 26 25— 109

Toronto 29 23 25 30— 107

3-Point GoalsChicago 9-25 (McDermott 4-5, Mirotic 3-8, Holiday 1-2, Moore 1-2, Portis 0-1, Snell 0-1, Butler 0-2, Brooks 0-4), Toronto 6-20 (Patterson 3-7, Lowry 2-5, Ross 1-3, Powell 0-1, DeRozan 0-1, Joseph 0-1, Scola 0-2). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsChicago 44 (Gibson 10), Toronto 50 (Lowry 11). AssistsChicago 23 (Butler 6), Toronto 12 (Lowry 7). Total FoulsChicago 22, Toronto 18. TechnicalsButler, Toronto Coach Casey, Patterson. A19,800 (19,800).

Heat 124, Nuggets 119

DENVER (119): Sampson 4-6 0-0 8, Faried 11-11 2-3 24, Jokic 5-10 1-2 12, Mudiay 9-19 3-5 23, Harris 6-14 5-6 18, Barton 0-6 0-0 0, Toupane 1-2 1-2 4, Arthur 3-4 0-0 7, Lauvergne 4-7 2-2 10, Augustin 6-14 0-0 13. Totals 49-93 14-20 119.

MIAMI (124): J.Johnson 6-11 4-5 18, Deng 7-10 3-3 17, Stoudemire 2-2 0-0 4, Dragic 5-10 0-2 11, Wade 7-15 5-7 19, Whiteside 6-7 6-6 18, Winslow 8-13 3-3 20, Richardson 6-10 1-2 17, McRoberts 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 47-79 22-28 124.

Denver 33 29 29 28— 119

Miami 36 28 26 34— 124

3-Point GoalsDenver 7-20 (Mudiay 2-4, Toupane 1-1, Arthur 1-2, Jokic 1-2, Augustin 1-3, Harris 1-5, Sampson 0-1, Barton 0-2), Miami 8-17 (Richardson 4-5, J.Johnson 2-5, Winslow 1-1, Dragic 1-4, Deng 0-2). ReboundsDenver 48 (Faried 11), Miami 40 (Whiteside 10). AssistsDenver 22 (Mudiay 10), Miami 24 (Dragic 8). Total FoulsDenver 21, Miami 20. TechnicalsDenver defensive three second. A19,744 (19,600).

Mavericks 107, Hornets 96

DALLAS (107): Matthews 1-8 2-2 5, Parsons 9-14 1-2 24, Nowitzki 8-18 6-7 23, D.Williams 6-11 2-2 15, Felton 4-11 0-1 9, D.Lee 6-8 0-0 12, Harris 5-8 2-2 12, Anderson 0-1 1-2 1, Barea 2-6 0-0 4, Pachulia 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 42-87 14-18 107.

CHARLOTTE (96): Batum 7-14 3-4 20, M.Williams 8-17 2-4 19, Zeller 0-3 1-2 1, Walker 8-18 7-9 25, C.Lee 4-7 2-2 12, Lin 0-3 1-4 1, Jefferson 1-3 5-6 7, Daniels 2-4 0-0 6, Kaminsky 2-7 1-3 5. Totals 32-76 22-34 96.

Dallas 22 30 19 36— 107

Charlotte 18 15 32 31— 96

3-Point GoalsDallas 9-30 (Parsons 5-9, Matthews 1-3, D.Williams 1-4, Felton 1-4, Nowitzki 1-5, Anderson 0-1, Pachulia 0-1, Barea 0-1, Harris 0-2), Charlotte 10-30 (Batum 3-7, C.Lee 2-4, Daniels 2-4, Walker 2-8, M.Williams 1-5, Lin 0-1, Kaminsky 0-1). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsDallas 55 (Nowitzki 11), Charlotte 50 (Zeller 9). AssistsDallas 30 (Felton 12), Charlotte 18 (Walker 9). Total FoulsDallas 26, Charlotte 16. TechnicalsAnderson, Batum, Charlotte Coach Clifford, Walker. Flagrant Fouls—D.Lee. A15,686 (19,077).