Mavs keep winning

The red-hot Mavericks and defending world champion Miami Heat meet for the second and final time in the regular season, as they battle on Thursday at American Airlines Center. This is a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals. Miami defeated the Mavericks in six games to earn its first-ever world championship.

On January 21st, Josh Howard had 25 points and nine rebounds to lead the Mavericks to a 99-93 victory over the Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena. The Mavericks have won five in a row in the series. Miami has lost four straight and five of its last six at Dallas.

Dallas, which plays its first game since the All-Star break, enters Thursday’s contest on a nine-game winning streak. On February 15th, All-Star Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the Mavericks came back to topple the Houston Rockets, 80-77, at the Toyota Center

Veteran Jerry Stackhouse contributed 17 points off the bench in the win for the Mavericks, who have won 30 of their last 32 games overall. Howard added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Dallas.

The Mavericks, who open a three-game homestand, are an impressive 24-3 at home this season. Dallas is scheduled to host the Denver Nuggets on Saturday and the Atlanta Hawks on Monday. The Mavs are 2-0 against Denver and will be playing the Hawks for the first time this season.

Nowitzki, who played in his sixth consecutive All-Star Game last Sunday, leads the Mavericks in scoring (25.3 ppg) and rebounding (9.4 rpg). He has scored in double-digits in 26 straight games and has collected 32 double- doubles this season.

Versatile guard Jason Terry, who is averaging 15.7 points per game, has handed out a team-best 5.4 assists per game this season.