Mavs use late surge to pull away from Spurs

SAN ANTONIO, Texas,  (Reuters) – The Dallas Mavericks  exploded for 42 points in the fourth quarter to pull away from  divisional rivals the San Antonio Spurs for a 112-103 victory  on Friday. Dirk Nowitzki led the charge by scoring 16 of his team-high  26 points in the final period as the Mavericks gained a  three-game lead over the Spurs in the Southwest Division.

“We just kept hanging in there, as they played some tough  defense on us,” Nowitzki told reporters.

“I missed a lot of shots, so we had to learn how to buckle  down defensively… make it tough for (Tim) Duncan and keep  (Manu) Ginobili out of the lane.” Perennial All-Star Duncan powered to 31 points and 12  boards for San Antonio (21-13), who led 80-67 with 12 seconds  remaining in the third quarter.

Dallas turned things around once Nowitzki got hot from the  outside, leading a 20-5 stretch to give the visitors a 100-92  advantage with less than four minutes to go.

Nowitzki made just 10 of 28 field goals but was unstoppable  in the fourth where he made a back-breaking three-pointer with  51 seconds left as the Spurs had pulled within four.

Jason Terry added 21 points and eight assists to help the  Mavericks (25-11) improve to 13-6 on the road, the best record  in the Western Conference. Erick Dampier returned to the court after missing two  straight games with a knee injury and had 14 points on a  perfect 6-for-6 shooting.

“Damp is so important to us, especially against these guys  because he’s the only guy that normally has the length to  battle Duncan on the inside,” said Mavericks coach Rick  Carlisle.

San Antonio point guard Tony Parker had 21 points after  having missed the previous two meetings with Dallas due to  injury.

The Spurs entered the night having won 12 of their last 15  as they regain health and form since starting the year 9-9.

Against the Mavericks, San Antonio endured an up and down  game that featured 10 lead changes with the Spurs trailing for  much of the second before snagging a halftime advantage and  moving well in front in the third.

SCOREBOARD

LEEWARDS 1st Innings 236
BARBADOS 1st Innings
(overnight 74 without loss)

D Richards c Powell b Banks                                                          60
J Haynes lbw b Willett                                                                      28
K Edwards lbw b Baker                                                                     60
*R Hinds lbw b Banks                                                                           4
K Hope c Powell b Martin                                                                22
K Stoute lbw b Martin                                                                         0
S Brooks c wkp Thomas b Tonge                                                     0
+P Browne run out                                                                              11
K Roach lbw b Athanaze                                                                      1
N Charles not out                                                                                   7
P Collins lbw b Martin                                                                          0
Extras (b10, lb15, w1, nb10)                                                          36
TOTAL (all out, 95.1 overs)                                                           229
Fall of wickets: 1-103, 2-103, 3-113, 4-155, 5-155, 6-157, 7-188, 8-189, 9-222, 10-229.
Bowling: Tonge 14-3-39-1, Baker 19-8-26-1, Martin 19.1-7-38-3, Athanaze 18-3-48-1, Willett 7-1-12-1, Banks 18-3-41-2.

LEEWARDS 2nd Innings

K Powell not out                                                                                   10
M Hodge not out                                                                                     4
Extras (b4, lb2)                                                                                       6
TOTAL (without loss, 15 overs)                                                     20
Bowling: Collins 3-1-2-0, Roach 2-0-4-2, Hinds 5-2-6-0, Stoute 3-2-1-0, Charles 2-1-1-0.
Position: Leewards lead by 27 runs with all their second innings wickets in tact.
Toss: Leewards.
Umpires: L Thompson, V Johnson.