NBA Game Summary - Seattle at Dallas

04.20.2005

Dallas, TX (Basketball News) - Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 101-96 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics at AmericanAirlines Center.

Josh Howard added 13 points for the Mavericks, who have won eight straight and 12 of their last 13 games. Dallas is locked into the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoffs and will face Houston in the first round.

Michael Finley, Jerry Stackhouse and Shawn Bradley scored 12 points apiece in the victory.

"Tonight we pretty much accomplished what we wanted," said Sonics coach Avery Johnson. "We got everybody some playing time."

Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis scored 21 points apiece for the SuperSonics, who are the third seed in the West and will face Sacramento in the playoffs. Luke Ridnour added 15 points and eight assists in the loss.

The Sonics trailed 51-32 at the half, but used a big third quarter to get back in the game.

Dallas still held a 59-41 lead after Nowitzki’s jumper with 8:03 remaining in the period, but Seattle answered with a 23-4 explosion to take its first lead since the opening minutes of the game.

Lewis scored 10 points in the run for the Sonics, but it was Reggie Evans’ layup that gave Seattle a 64-63 lead with 2:51 left. However, the Mavericks would regain composure and hold a 74-70 edge at the end of three quarters.

The Sonics cut the deficit to 74-72 on a pair of free throws by Damien Wilkins early in the fourth, but that was as close as they would get.

Seattle stayed in the game and trailed 84-80 after Wilkins’ three-pointer with 6:05 left. That’s when the Mavericks used an 11-4 burst to take control of the game for good. Stackhouse scored the final four points of the stretch and his free throws made it a 95-84 game with 3:26 remaining.

The Mavericks led 23-14 after one quarter of play. Howard led Dallas with 11 points at halftime, while Lewis paced the Sonics with nine.

Dallas shot 48 percent from the floor in the opening half, while holding Seattle to a dismal 29 percent.

The Mavericks will close out their regular season on Wednesday night in Memphis, while Seattle will visit Houston on the same evening...The Sonics have dropped seven of their last nine games in Dallas.

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