Nowitzki scored 15 of his 20 points in a tense third quarter and had 11 rebounds to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 89-77 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

Nowitzki only had a quiet five points and five rebounds in the first half before jawing with Timberwolves rookie Jonny Flynn five minutes into the third. He received a technical foul, then scored 13 points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked three shots in the next seven minutes to hand the Timberwolves their ninth straight loss.

Flynn had 11 points and four assists for the Wolves, who shot a season-worst 32.6 percent for the game and lost their 13th in a row against Dallas.

Magic 88, Nets 72

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Dwight Howard had 26 points and 12 rebounds and Matt Barnes added 13 points and 13 rebounds and Orlando put away winless New Jersey.

New Jersey got a triple-double from point guard Rafer Alston, the first triple-double of his career, but the Nets fell to 0-9. They are the NBA's only winless team.

Alston had 17 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds against his former team, but the Nets shot poorly and scored only 30 points in the second half.

Orlando's Mickael Pietrus scored 16 points, Vince Carter had 14 and Jameer Nelson added 10 as all five Magic starters scored in double figures.

Warriors 121, Knicks 107

NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen Jackson scored 23 points, three other players had 22, and Golden State sent New York to the worst 10-game start in franchise history.

Monta Ellis, Kelenna Azubuike and Corey Maggette all had 22 for the Warriors, who easily improved to 1-1 on a five-game Eastern Conference road trip by shooting 58 percent from the field. Reserve C.J. Watson finished with 19.

Danilo Gallinari had 19 points and 10 rebounds in his first career double-double for the Knicks, who dropped their sixth straight and fell to 1-9. David Lee scored 17 points and former Warriors forward Al Harrington had 16.

Trail Blazers 86, Hornets 78

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points and 13 rebounds, helping Portland to an 86-78 victory over a New Orleans team that lost Chris Paul to a sprained ankle while trying to adjust to new head coach Jeff Bower.

The Hornets trailed for most of their first game since the firing of Byron Scott on Thursday. Bower and new top assistant Tim Floyd struggled to find a lineup that could score consistently even when Paul was in the game.

Paul sprained his left ankle at the end of the third quarter, moments after setting up Hilton Armstrong's dunk that cut Portland's lead to 62-52.