Howard Leads Mavs Over Clippers

[April 01, 2008]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Jason Kidd scored 27 points, Josh Howard got 12 of his 25 in the fourth quarter, and the Dallas Mavericks held off the banged-up but stubborn Los Angeles Clippers 93-86 Monday night to complete a sweep of the four-game season series.

The Mavericks are seventh in the Western Conference standings, five games behind front-running San Antonio and New Orleans with eight games remaining -- including the regular-season finale against the Hornets in Dallas. Just six games separate the first nine teams in the West, and one of them is going to miss the playoffs.

Jason Terry had 20 points for Dallas, playing its fourth game since reigning MVP Dirk Nowitzki went down with knee and ankle injuries. Howard, who scored 30 or more points in the Mavericks' first three games without their leading scorer, was just 4-for-15 from the field over the first three quarters and 8-for-20 overall.

Forward Jerry Stackhouse, whose buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave the Mavs a 95-94 win over the Clippers the last time they played them at Staples Center on Jan. 12, missed his second game with strained right groin.

Rookie Al Thornton scored 26 points for the Clippers, who trailed throughout. They shot 36.8 percent and committed 23 turnovers against a Dallas defense that came in forcing a league-low 12.3 turnovers per game. Leading scorer Corey Maggette scored 23 points and was just 3-for-15 from the field.

Los Angeles lost for the 19th time in 22 tries after ending a season-worst 10-game losing streak Saturday night against Memphis.

The Clippers, who lead the league with 287 man-games lost to injuries and have used 33 different starting lineups, played the final three quarters without center Chris Kaman after he sprained his right ankle with 26 seconds left in the first. Also, Cuttino Mobley sat out the final 15 minutes because of a sore left heel and Tim Thomas missed his second straight game with a sore Achilles' tendon.

The news was much better for All-Star forward Elton Brand, who could make his long-awaited season debut on Thursday night at Sacramento. If he doesn't, he definitely will play in Sunday's home game against Houston, according to a Clippers spokesman. Brand underwent surgery to repair a torn Achilles' tendon on Aug. 7, four days after he was injured during a daily workout.

Maggette missed 11 of his first 12 shots before hitting a 3-pointer that reduced Dallas' lead to 76-70 with 7:21 to play. Dan Dickau hit another 3 just 32 seconds later, and Thornton followed with a layup after an offensive rebound to cut it to 78-75 with 6:07 left.

After Thornton's 19-footer trimmed Dallas' lead to 87-82 with 2:45 left, Howard responded with two free throws, an 18 footer and a short jumper to give the Mavericks an 11-point cushion with 1:24 to go.

Kidd scored 14 points in the first quarter, and the Mavericks converted 12 Clippers turnovers into 17 points to build a 52-40 halftime lead. Six of those turnovers came during a 15-0 run that increased Dallas' three-point lead to 44-26 with 5:25 left in the half.

The Mavericks are 11-10 since acquiring Kidd from New Jersey, 0-10 against teams with winning records.

Notes: The Clippers finished March with a 3-15 record -- the sixth time in the last 14 seasons that they have won fewer than five games in that month. ... The Mavericks have won six straight against the Clippers, and are 12-5 against them at Staples Center since the building opened in 1999. ... The Clippers' three victories since Feb. 22 have come against Sacramento, Miami and Memphis -- teams with a combined record of 68-153. They are 17-18 against clubs with losing records, and 5-36 against the rest of the league.

[Associated Press]

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