Nowitzki, Kidd Lead in Huge Mavs Victory

[April 03, 2008]  DALLAS (AP) -- Dirk Nowitzki unexpectedly returned to the starting lineup and scored 18 points after missing four games with a high ankle sprain, and the Dallas Mavericks finally beat a winning team since acquiring Jason Kidd.

Jason Terry equaled his season high with 31 points and Josh Howard added 28 for the Mavericks, whose 111-86 victory over Golden State on Wednesday night could be huge in the tight race for the Western Conference playoffs.

Kidd matched a season-high 17 assists and had 11 rebounds and five points for the Mavericks, who had been 11-10 since getting the All-Star point guard in a trade from New Jersey at the All-Star break. Dallas was 0-10 against teams with winning records with Kidd before the victory over the Warriors, which came three nights after a 114-104 loss at Golden State.

Dallas (47-28), seventh in the Western Conference, moved a full game ahead of idle Denver and two games ahead of Golden State (45-30). Only the top eight teams make the playoffs.

The Warriors have consecutive losses for only the second time since going 0-6 to start the season, when Stephen Jackson was suspended. They were also held under 100 points again after having a 37-game streak of hitting the century mark snapped in a 116-92 loss at San Antonio on Tuesday.

Warriors coach Don Nelson called it "the biggest game of the season" for both teams -- there are only seven regular season games left. But Golden State responded with one of its worst performances of the season, against Big Nellie's former team.

Jackson had only two points on 1-of-11 shooting, and Al Harrington was 1-of-9 with six points. Monta Ellis led the Warriors with 27 points, while Baron Davis had 20.

Nowitzki, who sprained his ankle and his knee 10 days earlier, moved gingerly when he took shots during warmups. But there were chants of "Dirk! Dirk! Dirk!" just before pregame introductions, then a deafening roar when he was the last starter introduced.

Nelson embraced Nowitzki and tapped him on the head in front of the scorer's table before tipoff.

While Nowitzki was obviously not at the top of his game (6-of-15 shooting) during his 27 minutes, the reigning MVP twisted and turned moving to the basket several times and didn't appear to have any significant problems with his ankle. He had already said his knee was fine.

After the morning shootaround, he had expressed doubts about playing.

Nowitzki didn't touch the ball on the Mavericks' first two possessions, but then had a defensive rebound and missed a 13-foot jumper. On the next possession, he moved inside along the baseline, drawing a foul and hitting both free throws for a 4-2 lead.

Dallas never trailed in the game, going ahead for good on Howard's 15-foot jumper. That was one of three straight baskets on which Kidd had an assist in a span of 90 seconds.

Kidd's 17 assists were seven more than Golden State's entire team. Kidd had an 11-3 advantage at halftime, when the Mavericks led 60-50.

Notes: The last time Golden State lost consecutive games was Jan. 2 and 4, at Dallas and against New Orleans. ... Warriors F Mickael Pietrus missed his seventh straight game because of a right groin injury. ... Dallas had a season-high 56 rebounds. Erick Dampier had 11 to match Kidd's total.

[Associated Press; By STEPHEN HAWKINS

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