Dallas has edged back into second place in the NBA Southwest division with a 112-105 victory over a Los Angeles Clippers squad that face up to a month without its top scorer, Eric Gordon.
NBA's Clippers lose top scorer, fall to Mavericks
Jason Terry scored a season-high 28 points to lead Dallas while fellow reserve J.J. Barea added 25, Tyson Chandler struck for a season-high 21 points and German star Dirk Nowitzke contributed 20 points for the Mavericks.
After a six-game losing skid, the Mavericks won for the third time in four games to stand on 29-15, edging atop the New Orleans Hornets, on a nine-game win streak, to trail only NBA overall leader San Antonio in the division.
The Clippers seized an early 15-point lead, but the Mavericks answered with a 23-6 run in the third quarter and a run of 14 points in a row in the fourth quarter to secure the triumph.
Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 22 points and 11 assists while Baron Davis added 21.
The Clippers were without Gordon, who will miss three to four weeks with a sprained right wrist and bone chip fracture. Gordon leads the Clippers with 24.1 points a game, an average that ranks eighth overall in the NBA.
Gordon suffered the injury last Saturday in a victory over Golden State. He was replaced in the starting lineup by Randy Foye, who scored 15 points.
"We have to get more out of everybody," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. "Other guys have to step up."
The Clippers, who fell to 17-27, are already getting a strong effort from rookie Griffin, whose average of 22.8 points a game ranks 12th in the NBA.
Source: msn
