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 Reserve guards Devin Harris and J.J. Barea combined for 27 points
and eight assists as Dallas (39-20) finished off a perfect
three-game homestand by rallying from a 13-point deficit.
The Atlantic Division-leading Raptors (37-20) ended a stretch of
four road games in five nights, including Monday at New Orleans,
with only their second three-game losing streak of the season.
The Mavericks have nine wins in the past 12 games going into
Wednesday night's visit to Atlanta, which owns the best record in
the Eastern Conference. Toronto is second in the East.
"They are obviously one of the best teams in the East," Dallas
forward Dirk Nowitzki said of the Raptors. "They play tough. They
are good defensively, and they just came off a loss last night.
"I watched some of the game in New Orleans. They were up almost 20
and gave the game away a little bit, so we knew we were going to get
their best shot. It was physical out there, but ... we made enough
plays and I thought we had good energy at the start."
Dallas outscored the Raptors 25-15 in the fourth quarter. Barea
provided the initial spark to start the fourth with five quick
points, including a 3-pointer that gave Dallas its first lead
(79-77) since the first period.
"When we really got it going late in the third quarter, we were
taking care of the ball," Barea said. "We were getting stops, and
when we get stops, we're going to finish the game."
The Raptors led for much of the night before running out of gas down
the stretch. Toronto scored only 37 points after halftime.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey admitted that his team was tired, leading
to sloppy play in the second half.
"Well, our fatigue turnovers got us," he said. "Turnovers were
crucial, brutal, and led to baskets on the other end. Some of them
were forced and some of them were unforced turnovers. That was the
difference in the second half."
Shooting guard DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 18 points, but he made
only seven of 21 shots. Point guard Kyle Lowry (11 points on 4-of-15
shooting) also struggled as the game went on.
The Mavericks tied the game at 71-all with two minutes left in the
third on Harris' layup. Toronto took a 77-74 lead into the final 12
minutes.
Barea scored 13, eight coming in the fourth. Harris came up big in
the third, and he finished with 14 points, five assists and four
steals. Dallas' bench accounted for 42 points.
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Mavericks shooting guard Monta Ellis topped all scorers with 20
points, and Nowitzki scored 18 and grabbed nine rebounds. Small
forward Richard Jefferson had 11 points in place of usual starting
forward Chandler Parsons, who missed his second consecutive game due
to an ankle injury.
Another Dallas reserve, forward Al-Farouq Aminu, had nine points and
12 boards. Toronto had three double-digit scorers off the bench, led
by guard Greivis Vazquez with 14 points.
The Raptors get a few needed nights off before returning home to
host the Golden State Warriors on Friday.
"I thought we played the game the right way, with the right
intentions, together, connected, and quality shots for the most
part," Casey said. "We continue to do that, build on it, get our
bodies right, and some rest will help us."
NOTES: Dallas coach Rick Carlisle downplayed a heated third-quarter
exchange with G Rajon Rondo, who didn't play in the final 20
minutes. "It's an emotional game, and we had a difference of
opinion," Carlisle said. "There was an exchange, and then, in my
mind, it was over." ... When it comes free agents, Carlisle believes
F Dirk Nowitzki and owner Mark Cuban are pretty good recruiters. The
Mavericks have signed the likes of F Amar'e Stoudemire, G J.J. Barea
and F Richard Jefferson to minimum-salary deals. "Guys like that
want to come play with great players that can enhance their games,
and Dirk is a guy that people have such great respect for," Carlisle
said. "He's been a big draw here for a long time and continues to
be. The other reason is Mark. They know he's a great owner that
takes care of players." ... Toronto fell to 12-10 against the
Western Conference teams. ... Cuban said the league might eliminate
four games in five nights as well as drastically reduce
back-to-backs by next season.
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reserved.]
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