Stackhouse comes off bench to lift Mavericks

The nine-year veteran scored 28 points for Dallas against the Nets.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Jerry Stackhouse came off the bench for the Mavericks and finally had a good time. Stackhouse hit all five of his third-quarter shots and scored a season-high 28 points Saturday, leading Dallas to a 94-78 victory over the New Jersey Nets.
"That was fun," said Stackhouse, a starter for most of his nine-plus NBA seasons. "We weren't really doing anything different. The game dictated that I would get some opportunities. It is always good to see the ball go in the hole."
Acquired from Washington in the offseason to give Dallas a threat off the bench, Stackhouse had struggled with his shot this season. He came into the game shooting 36.4 percent, including a 4-of-14 effort in a loss at Orlando this week.
Against a Nets' defense that limited Portland to 60 points on Tuesday night, Stackhouse found his touch, hitting 10-of-18 from the field and all seven of his free throws in 40 minutes. His 10 baskets matched his total for his last four games.
"He can come off the bench and give us points in a heartbeat," said Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki, who added 31 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and four of Dallas' 12 steals.
"He's been great and I'm sure he's going to win a lot games for us this year," Nowitzki said.
Tangled up
In the third period, Stackhouse became entangled with Nets center Alonzo Mourning, forcing a jump ball. Neither player would let the ball go and Mourning swung Stackhouse to the floor, getting a technical foul.
"We go way back," Stackhouse said. "We've been bumping heads in playoffs when I was in Detroit and he was in Miami. It was nothing much. I told him it was a couple of older guys having some fun."
Mourning laughed about the technical.
"He had the ball and my arm and I was getting him off of me," Mourning said. "It just so happens I weigh more than him and am stronger than him, and he happened to go that way and I'm still standing. Obviously, a ref that size can sympathize with someone like that."
Stackhouse's big third quarter allowed Dallas to turn a two-point halftime edge into a nine-point lead. Nowitzki, who had an NBA season-high 41 points against Miami on Thursday, then blew the game open in the fourth quarter with 11 points.
Richard Jefferson had 28 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Nets, who lost for the third time in four home games. Point guard Zoran Planinic had a career-high 16 points and Eric Williams added 15.
In a game in which the Mavericks were limited to a season-low 16 first-quarter points and Nowitzki didn't really get going until the second quarter, Stackhouse kept them going. He scored the final six points in the first quarter to help Dallas close a nine-point deficit to six, and he added the first five early in the second to make the game close.
Stackhouse's five straight baskets in the third quarter came in a 13-2 spurt in which he also assisted on a 3-point basket by Nowitzki, who also was 10-for-18 from the field.
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