NBA Game Summary - Dallas at Golden State

02.16.2005

Oakland, CA (Basketball News) - Dirk Nowitzki poured in a game-high 35 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Dallas over Golden State, 114-107 at The Arena.

Michael Finley finished with 24 points, while Josh Howard tallied 13 points and pulled down 10 boards for the Mavericks, who have won three straight and four of their last five games overall. Devin Harris chipped in 15 points off the bench in the win.

"Offensively we pretty much did anything we wanted all night long," Nowitzki said. "But defensively we had major letdowns. We left guys open and made it a lot harder on ourselves. It should have been an easy night for us."

Jason Richardson scored a team-high 26 points and dished out seven assists to lead Golden State, which has now lost three consecutive and six of seven home games. Speedy Claxton netted 23 points and nine assists, while Derek Fisher, Mickael Pietrus, and Eduardo Najera all had 10 points in the losing effort.

"You have to stop a team in the last two minutes," Fisher stated. "We did it to get back in the game but not down the stretch."

Trailing for most of the first half, Golden State battled back in the third and cut its deficit to 79-75 after Richardson connected from three-point territory at the 4:43 mark. Najera’s layup made it 14 straight points by the Warriors as they took the lead, 84-79.

Golden State eventually led 88-86 heading into the final stanza.

The see-saw battle continued in the fourth with neither team grabbing a lead of more than two five minutes into the frame.

Dallas started to pull away though down the stretch, using a 12-2 run to grab a 108-98 lead with less than five minutes to go. Finley highlighted the surge with a trey, while Howard capped it on his layup with 4:03 left.

The Warriors countered with a quick 7-0 spurt to get within three, but Nowitzki’s pair of free throws with less than a minute remaining put the Mavericks up, 110-105. Richardson got a quick two for the Warriors on the other end, but Nowitzki answered with a jumper to seal the win.

Dallas stretched its lead in the second quarter behind 10 points from Finley as they took a 67-53 advantage into the half. Nowitzki led all scorers with 18 points at the break, while Harris added 12.

The Mavericks led 34-29 after the first 12 minutes.

Dallas has won six out of seven on the road and improved to 12-0 on the season when it shoots 50 percent or better from the field...Erick Dampier left the game early with a right foot tendon sprain; x-rays were negative...The Warriors went 43-of-89 from the floor and 9-of-21 from three-point range...Dallas went 46-of-82 on field goals and outrebounded the Warriors 46-36.

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