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Mavericks win ninth straight as Nowitzki tops 15,000 points
2007-03-31
Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points to pass a personal milestone in leading the Dallas Mavericks to a ninth straight victory, a 105-103 home win over the New York Knicks on Friday. Nowitzki breached the 15,000-point barrier on his first shot, but it was his nine consecutive points in the final two minutes that paced the NBA-leading Mavericks to a franchise-record 61st victory. The Mavericks forward hit six of nine points from the floor and five straight free throws in the final period, despite playing with bone spurs in his left ankle. "The MVP was pretty special again down the stretch," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson told reporters. Stephon Marbury scored 43 points for the Knicks, but his final attempt was blocked by Josh Howard as time expired. Marbury and Nowitzki almost turned the closing stages of the game into a personal duel. Nowitzki scored five straight points to give Dallas a 100-98 lead with 1:32 remaining, before Marbury had the game's next three points to push New York back in front with 1:18 to play. Nowitzki then hit two free throws before Marbury answered with a jump shot to make it 103-102 to New York with 46 seconds remaining. The German went to the line 20 seconds later and delivered a pair of free throws to give Dallas a 104-103 advantage. Jason Terry then wrapped up the scoring with a free throw for Dallas with 17 seconds remaining. Howard finished with 20 points and Terry had 14 as Dallas improved to 61-11. *Yao Ming scored 39 points and Tracy McGrady added 30 as the Houston Rockets withstood a 53-point performance by Kobe Bryant for a 107-104 overtime road win. Bryant sent the game into overtime with a three-pointer but missed a long shot that could have forced a second extra period. It was his fifth 50-point performance of the month. *Chris Bosh scored eight of his 37 points in overtime and the visiting Toronto Raptors stunned the Washington Wizards 123-118. Morris Peterson hit a long three-pointer for Toronto as the game-ending buzzer sounded to force overtime. Gilbert Arenas had 34 points for Washington. *The San Antonio Spurs stopped the visiting Utah Jazz 102-93 for their sixth straight win as Manu Ginobili scored 25 points. Tony Parker had 23 points and 11 assists and Tim Duncan contributed 20 points and 14 rebounds. *The Phoenix Suns rallied with an 18-point first-half deficit for a 125-108 home win over the Denver Nuggets.
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