NBA ROUNDUP SUNDAY'S GAMES

Mavericks 102, Timberwolves 95
DALLAS -- Josh Howard, Jason Terry and Devin Harris sparked a fourth-quarter surge, carrying Dallas past Minnesota. Harris' open court moves led to several layups for himself and others. Howard was among those benefiting, scoring seven of his 23 points in the final period. Terry opened the quarter with a 3-pointer, ending a stretch of eight straight misses, and scored 10 of his 14 points in the quarter, with several coming from the foul line to preserve the win. Dirk Nowitzki added 19 points, seven rebounds and a season-high four blocks as the Mavs capped a long homestand by going 4-1, all against teams they were expected to beat. Dallas has won eight of nine and is a game behind division rival San Antonio for the best record in the Western Conference. Wally Szczerbiak scored 28 points and Kevin Garnett added 20 points, 16 rebounds and five assists, but the Timberwolves still extended their longest losing streak of the season to four. Their previous three losses were by a combined five points and this looked like it would be another tight one when they scored 32 points in the third quarter and tied it at 70 early in the fourth. The rally must have sapped them, though, as Dallas answered with an 11-3 run, then an 8-0 burst after Minnesota again got within four. Harris, who finished with 14 points and six assists, fed Adrian Griffin for the basket that put the Mavericks ahead for good. Griffin had 10 points and Keith Van Horn scored 13. Troy Hudson scored 20 points for Minnesota. This was the first of three games in 21 days featuring versatile big men Nowitzki and Garnett.
Hornets 89, Spurs 76
OKLAHOMA CITY -- P.J. Brown, involved in an altercation earlier in the game, sparked the decisive run for New Orleans. Brown and the Hornets also held Tim Duncan to 11 points, matching his season low, before a Ford Center-record crowd of 19,267. David West scored 19 points and Chris Paul finished one assist shy of his first career triple-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who returned to Oklahoma City after playing their first game of the season in Baton Rouge, La., on Friday. Michael Finley and Tony Parker had 17 points apiece for the Spurs. Brown broke a 69-all tie with a jumper from the right elbow with 8:12 left in the game and Speedy Claxton followed with a fast-break layup after Paul's steal. Claxton then grabbed a steal of his own and raced downcourt for a layup. He hit the ensuing free throw, and Paul followed with a three-point play of his own. After converting his layup off an inbounds pass, Paul pumped his fist and slapped a high-five with teammates on the Hornets bench. Robert Horry's 3-pointer from the right wing pulled the defending NBA champions within 79-74, but West responded with three straight jumpers to ice the game.
Hawks 110, Nuggets 107
ATLANTA -- Atlanta's Josh Smith scored on a layup with 42 seconds left in overtime to snap a tie and Tyronn Lue hit a 3-pointer with 5.6 seconds remaining Sunday to clinch the suddenly rejuvenated Hawks' victory. Atlanta (6-18) has won two straight and four of five. The Nuggets (12-13), who dressed only nine players due to injuries and played only seven, lost their third straight to match the longest losing streak of the season. Lue was 5-of-6 from 3-point range and finished with 17 points. Zaza Pachulia added 15 points and Al Harrington had 14. Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 37 points. Andre Miller had 20 points, while DerMarr Johnson added 15, Earl Watson 12 and Eduardo Najera 11.
76ers 107, Raptors 80
TORONTO -- Andre Iguodala tied a career-high with 26 points to lead Philadelphia over Toronto, which has the worst record in the NBA. Iguodala repeatedly dunked on the Raptors, who fell to 4-20 overall and 1-12 at home. Kyle Korver had 23 points and Allen Iverson added 18 for the Sixers, who have won five of six to raise their record to 13-12. Center Samuel Dalembert, who grew up in Montreal, added 18 rebounds and 11 points. Chris Bosh had 22 points for the Raptors, who dropped to 0-3 against Philadelphia this year. Jalen Rose had just two points in 12 minutes off the bench.
Nets 118, Warriors 90
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Jason Kidd fell one rebound shy of a triple-double, finishing with 24 points and 13 assists to lead New Jersey over Golden State. Vince Carter scored 25 points for the Nets, who led 37-24 after their best first quarter of the season and never trailed. Nenad Krstic and Richard Jefferson each added 17 points. The Nets shot a season-high 58 percent in their easiest victory of the season and have won two straight at home after dropping the previous four. Kidd has 68 career triple-doubles. Troy Murphy, a New Jersey native, led the Warriors with 19 points. Baron Davis added 18, but Golden State lost for the fourth time in six games.
Associated Press
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