Dallas Mavericks going for 9 straight

 

Dirk Nowitzki scored 16 of his 27 points in the second half on Monday and also pulled down 13 rebounds, as Dallas won its eighth straight and remained perfect against the Charlotte Bobcats with an 89-84 decision.

Recently acquired from the Washington Wizards star Caron Butler scored 22 points and the red hot Jason Terry netted 13 of his 20 in the final quarter for the Mavericks, who are 12-0 all-time against the Bobcats.

The Mavericks, who held a 46-32 scoring margin in the second half, haven't lost since Feb. 16 at Oklahoma City and have vaulted all the way into the second seed in the Western Conference playoff race, one-half game ahead of Denver.

"It was phenomenal," Terry said of Dallas' defense. "For us to be rotating and helping each other out the way we did, it looked good. The chemistry is started to get there on both ends of the floor."

The Mavs, who haven't won nine straight since March 16-30, 2007, have been lifted by the acquisition of Butler and center Brendan Haywood from Washington on Feb. 13. Since that deal, Dallas is 8-1 and has opened up a 4 1/2-game lead over San Antonio in the Southwest Division.

The Wolves, meanwhile, were trounced in their last outing on Saturday. Nicolas Batum netted 22 points in the third quarter on the way to a career-high 31 in that one, leading the Portland Trail Blazers to a 110-91 victory over Minnesota.

Al Jefferson had 19 points and 11 boards to pace the Timberwolves, who have lost three in a row and are 1-9 over their last 10 games. Ramon Sessions had 13 points in the loss.

"They're a better team than us," said the Timberwolves' Ryan Gomes.

Jefferson was then arrested early Sunday by the Minnesota State Patrol on suspicion of DWI and the club suspended the talented forward for two games without pay, starting tonight.

The Mavericks tripped against Minnesota, 117-108, on Feb. 5 in Dallas, snapping their 13-game winning streak against the Wolves. Dallas has won seven of eight against Minnesota in Big D, however.