Dirk Does in Warriors Down Stretch
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DALLAS, Jan. 7 (Ticker) -- Dirk Nowitzki made sure former teammate Nick Van Exe
l and the Golden State Warriors did not get the best of the Dallas Mavericks do
wn the stretch.
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Nowitzki scored eight of his 23 points in the final four minutes and grabbed 11
rebounds to help the Mavericks beat the Warriors for the 19th straight time, 1
05-99.
Michael Finley added 21 points and Antoine Walker 20 for Dallas, which has not
lost to Golden State since a 91-90 home setback on April 10, 1999.
Van Exel, the Mavericks' best player in last year's postseason, was traded to t
he Warriors in the offseason in a deal that brought Antawn Jamison to Dallas.
Before the game, Van Exel received a partial standing ovation from the American
Airlines Center crowd. He scored 15 points, including back-to-back baskets to
bring Golden State to within 101-99 with 7.3 seconds left.
"He's a great competitor," Mavericks coach Don Nelson said. "He tried to beat u
s tonight. He's unstoppable when he gets on a roll. I know his knee is hurting
a little bit and his shot isn't where he wants it. Against us he shot the ball
well and I thought he was a great player tonight."
But Steve Nash- who had scored just five points on 1-of-9 shooting - calmly san
k two free throws with 6.1 seconds remaining. Nowitzki capped the scoring with
a pair from the line to ice the contest.
"We really needed a win so badly I wasn't even thinking about coming back to pl
ay Dallas," said Van Exel, whose team's season-high losing streak reached seven
games. "I was more like, 'We need a win and we have to go play these games.' T
hat's what I was thinking about."
The game was tied, 93-93, before Nowitzki made a layup with 3:56 remaining to g
ive the Mavericks the lead for good. He added a pair of free throws and a jumpe
r before Jamison made a layup to extend the lead to 101-95 with 69 seconds left
.
Dallas improved to 16-2 at home but is just 3-12 away from the American Airline
s Center.
"We're ready to turn the corner on the road," Walker said. "Next week we have f
our of five of them (on the road)."
Jason Richardson scored 27 points, Brian Cardinal chipped in 18 and Erick Dampi
er added 15 for the Warriors, who capped a winless six-game road trip with its
eighth straight loss away from home.
"It was a very winnable game," said Richardson, whose squad lost to Dallas, 95-
87, at home on October 29. "We find that encouraging. We've played two games do
wn to the wire against these guys. We've just got to find a way to bear down an
d win these games."
Finley's jumper made it 81-70 with 3:22 remaining in the period before Golden S
tate rallied to take an 88-87 edge on a 3-pointer by Richardson with 8:24 to pl
ay.
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