DALLAS – Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points, including the go-ahead jumper with less than 20 seconds to play, and the Dallas Mavericks snapped Boston’s five-game winning streak with an 89-87 victory over the Celtics on Monday night.
Jason Terry added 17 points, and Tyson Chandler had 12 points and 13 rebounds for Dallas.
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Paul Pierce scored 24 points, Kevin Garnett had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo had 11 points and 15 assists for the Celtics, who’d won their last three trips to Dallas.
Boston held an 87-82 lead with 1:58 left on Pierce’s 17-footer. But Nowitzki converted a layup, then Terry made a 3-pointer with 1:13 remaining to tie it at 87. Garnett missed an inside shot with 36 seconds left, and Nowitzki connected from 16 feet on the left wing with 17.4 to play to give Dallas the lead for good.
Rondo missed a 3-pointer with 3.8 seconds left, but Terry fouled going for a loose ball to give the Celts another possession. Garnett’s desperation 3-pointer from the right corner failed to hit the rim.
After trailing by 10 at halftime, the Celtics used an 18-6 run capped by Pierce’s wide-open 3-pointer for a 67-63 lead with 1:57 left in the third quarter.
Dallas finished the third with a 7-2 run for a 70-69 edge heading into the final quarter.
Midway through the second quarter, Terry swished a 3-pointer from deep in the left corner that he had to loft high over Marquis Daniels of the Celtics. Terry high-fived a fan, Daniels was whistled for a foul on the shot, and Terry connected on a free throw for a four-point play to give Dallas a 40-30 lead.
Dallas carried a 50-40 lead into halftime behind Chandler’s 10 points and nine rebounds.
Celtics center Jermaine O’Neal missed the second half with a sore left knee. O’Neal started and played 11 minutes in the first half, contributing two points and three rebounds. O’Neal missed a game against the New York Knicks on Oct. 29 with the same injury, but had played in Boston’s last five games.
The Mavericks were coming off Saturday night’s 103-92 defeat to Denver, their second loss in three home games.
In that game, Dallas had 21 turnovers, seven by Nowitzki and eight by the team in the final quarter. Defense was another issue for the Mavs against Denver, with the Nuggets hitting 13 of 21 from 3-point territory.
WARRIORS 109, RAPTORS 102: Stephen Curry scored a season-high 34 points, Monta Ellis added 28 points and Golden State won at Toronto.
Ellis, the NBA’s leading scorer, fell heavily after a collision under Toronto’s basket late in the fourth quarter. He remained down for several minutes before being helped up and walking slowly to the locker room. Ellis topped 25 points for the third time in seven games.
MAGIC 93, HAWKS 89: Dwight Howard had 27 points and 11 rebounds as host Orlando beat Atlanta.
Vince Carter finished with 19 points and made two huge layups in the final minute-plus to seal the Magic’s victory, the 11th in the last 12 meetings over Atlanta. Jason Williams also had eight points and eight rebounds to fill in for an injured Jameer Nelson.
Joe Johnson had 23 points and Al Horford scored 16 for the Hawks, who have lost two games in two days after winning their first six this season.
SPURS 95, BOBCATS 91: Manu Ginobili scored 26 points, including a driving layup with 4.9 seconds left to end Charlotte’s late comeback bid, and visiting San Antonio held on for a win.
Surprising rookie Gary Neal added 15 points, Tim Duncan had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Tony Parker had 12 points and eight assists for the Spurs.
Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw had 15 points apiece for the Bobcats, who dropped to 1-6.
GRIZZLIES 109, SUNS 99: Zach Randolph had 23 points and 20 rebounds while Rudy Gay added 22 points to help host Memphis defeat Phoenix.
Randolph was 9 of 16 from the field and led six Grizzlies in double figures. The points and rebounds were season highs for Randolph, and the fifth 20-20 game in his career.
BULLS 94, NUGGETS 92: Derrick Rose scored 18 points, including eight during a furious fourth-quarter rally, to help Chicago beat visiting Denver.
Luol Deng added 17 points and Taj Gibson had 16 points for the Bulls.
Carmelo Anthony’s basket with 15.3 seconds left cut the Bulls’ lead to 90-88. Joakim Noah hit a free throw to extend the margin back to three points. Deng fouled Anthony, who made two free throws to make it a one-point game with 11 seconds left.
Chicago hit two more free throws and Arron Afflalo missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it
Anthony led Denver with 32 points.
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