Croshere powers Mavericks past Sonics

Croshere made 11-of-14 from the floor and also grabbed seven rebounds, while Greg Buckner chipped in a season-high 17 points. Jason Terry donated 19 points, Devin Harris added 16 points and Dirk Nowitzki totaled 15 points and six rebounds for the Mavericks, who have won 10 of 11 games.

"He’s a professional guy. He works hard — he comes in early and stays late," said Dallas head coach Avery Johnson of Croshere. "He works on his game."

Ray Allen scored a game-high 35 points with seven assists and six rebounds, while Earl Watson donated 15 points and six assists for Seattle, which has lost two straight and three of four.

Mickael Gelabale also scored 15 points with nine rebounds and Chris Wilcox added 12 points in the loss.

The game featured 10 ties and 16 lead changes before Dallas pulled away in the fourth quarter.

After playing to a 28-28 tie at the conclusion of one quarter, Dallas took command with a 27-14 run over the final 7:30 of the half. Terry drained a three then Buckner converted a reverse layup for a 55-46 edge.

Dallas led 66-54 at the half.

Seattle rallied in the third quarter, scoring the first 10 points to pull within 66-64. Allen’s layup with nine minutes left capped the surge. The Sonics tied the game later in the period, 76-76, on a pair of Wilcox free throws with 4:52 left.

Harris and Terry each drained two free throws near the end of the stanza to give Dallas an 85-80 advantage.

The Mavericks seized control early in the fourth period, pushing a nine-point lead to 104-88 on Croshere’s layup with 6:44 remaining. The big man also drained a three-pointer during the stretch.

Dallas cruised to victory from there.

Game Notes

Seattle outrebounded Dallas 46-33. The Sonics had 19 offensive rebounds...Dallas improved to 21-3 at home this season, while Seattle fell to 4-17 on the road...Dallas shot 54.5 percent from the floor and the Sonics made 47 percent of its shots.