NBA roundup: Dirk comes alive down the stretch to propel Mavs past Clippers

DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points, 11 in the final 6-plus minutes, Shawn Marion added 16, and the Dallas Mavericks held on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 96-92 on Monday night.

Jason Terry, Vince Carter and Brendan Haywood all contributed 10 points for the Mavs, who've won 10 in a row at home against the Clippers and extended their overall winning streak to four games.

Caron Butler of the Clippers scored a season-high 23 points against his former team, and Blake Griffin added 20 points.

Chris Paul had 16 points and nine assists for the Clippers, but Griffin's problems from the foul line cost his team as he missed seven of nine free throws.

The Clippers, who completed a 4-2 road trip, haven't beaten the defending NBA champs in Dallas since April 19, 2006.

76ERS 98, BOBCATS 89: At Charlotte, N.C., Lou Williams scored 23 points off the bench as Philadelphia built an early lead and held on to send the Charlotte Bobcats to their 15th straight defeat.

Thaddeus Young added 20 points and Jrue Holiday chipped in with 19 points for the 76ers (20-9).

Corey Maggette scored a season-high 22 points for Charlotte, which fell to 3-25 on the season. It's the worst record in the NBA and drops the Bobcats' winning percentage below that of the 1972-73 76ers, who finished with the worst record ever in the NBA at 9-72.

HEAT 114, BUCKS 96: At Milwaukee, LeBron James scored 35 points and Miami finally found a way to beat Milwaukee, using a third-quarter surge to beat the Bucks.

Dwyane Wade scored 22 and Mario Chalmers added 13 for the Heat, who were 0-2 against the Bucks coming into Monday night's game.

Carlos Delfino scored 24 for the Bucks, who were coming off a loss to Orlando on Saturday night.

With the win, Miami ran its record to 22-7 — equaling the franchise's best start after the first 29 games of a season, set in 1996-97 and again in 2004-05.

MAGIC 102, TIMBERWOLVES 89: At Orlando, Fla., Jason Richardson scored 17 points, and Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu each added 14 as the Magic used a big second half to beat Minnesota. Richardson, coming off a season-high 31 points, was strong early against Minnesota but sat out the fourth quarter.

Kevin Love led Minnesota with 19 points and 15 rebounds, but the Timberwolves lost their fourth straight game.

WARRIORS 102, SUNS 96: At Oakland, Calif., David Lee had 28 points and 12 rebounds, Monta Ellis scored 18 points and Golden State earned their first three-game winning streak under rookie coach Mark Jackson.

Rookie Klay Thompson added 10 points and fellow reserve Ekpe Udoh had nine points, including a layup with 35.9 seconds remaining that extended Golden State's lead to five and capped a comeback from 12 points down in the second half.

Marcin Gortat had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Steve Nash handed out 14 assists for Phoenix.