NBA Game Summary - Dallas at San Antonio

San Antonio, TX (Basketball News) - Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 of his game-high 30 points in the second half, as the Dallas Mavericks inched closer to San Antonio for the top spot in the Western Conference with a 92-86 victory over the Spurs at the AT&T Center.

Nowitzki also pulled down 10 rebounds for Dallas, which moved within a game of the Spurs for the best record in the conference and the Southwest Division. Josh Howard totaled 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavs, winners of three in a row after a three-game skid.

"I thought our defense did a great job on Tony Parker and of course Tim Duncan," Nowitzki. "If we play defense and get rebounds, that opens up a lot of opportunities for us in the open court."

Manu Ginobili tallied 22 points to lead the Spurs, who have dropped back-to- back contests for the first time since mid-February. Michael Finley and Nick Van Exel each added 14 points, but San Antonio shot just 37.8 percent and failed on a few opportunities in the closing two minutes.

A jumper by Tony Parker had the Spurs within 89-86 with 1:42 remaining, but Ginobili then missed a layup.

DeSagana Diop made one free throw to push Dallas to a four-point lead with 49.4 seconds left, and Duncan traveled on the ensuing possession. Bruce Bowen missed a three-point try, turning the ball over to the Mavs with 6.7 seconds left.

"He was great tonight," Duncan said of Nowitzki. "He made all of the shots down the stretch and made some great moves. His play down the stretch was the difference in the game tonight."

Jerry Stackhouse converted two free throws for the final margin.

The Spurs led by as many as 11 in the second quarter before settling for a 53-51 edge at the half, but Dallas was in front 71-65 going into the fourth.