Mavs run past Magic for 8th straight win
Nowitzki has 33 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists to lead Dallas
 Kevin Kolczynski / Reuters Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki is fouled by Orlando's Darko Milicic during Tuesday's game. |
 | Slide show |
 | Week in Sports Pictures Pain on the skating rink, flying high on the hardwood, upsets on the football field, and more. more photos |
 | Slideshow |
 | more photos |
 | Video: NBA from NBC Sports |
 A little arrogant? You have to be, Kobe Bryant says In this web-exclusive clip, NBA great Kobe Bryant responds to the perception of him from his teammates and from the public that he has came to view as growing pains. |
Ask the NBA expert: Ira Winderman |
Do you have a burning question about your favorite team or player? Submit it now, and then check back for our reader mailbag on the 1st and 15th of each month. |  |
ORLANDO, Fla. - It took Dirk Nowitzki more than 60 games last season to reach 26 double-doubles. He topped that mark in 2007 on Tuesday night after only 43 outings.
Nowitzki’s defending Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks are also ahead of schedule, beating the Orlando Magic 111-95 for their 35th win of the season.
Nowitzki had 33 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and Josh Howard added 25 points. It was the Mavericks’ 21st victory in 22 games, and it kept them ahead of last season’s franchise-record 60-win pace.
How good is Dallas? To the weak Eastern Conference, scary good.
“We’re about as hungry as it gets,” Nowitzki said. “We were so close last year. It was a very, very disappointing loss at the end. But more than anything it’s motivation for us to work even harder this year.”
For the second consecutive night, after beating the Miami Heat in a rematch of last year’s NBA finals, the Mavericks led from beginning to end. Dallas was up 16 at the end of the first quarter and pushed the margin to 25 points in the second with a 15-5 run capped by Nowitzki’s three-point play. The Mavericks kept it around 20 points most of the second and third periods.
Orlando pulled within 11 points in the third with a 13-4 run, but it happened with Nowitzki resting.
It was the closest the Magic had been since 8 minutes into the first quarter, and aside from a quick basket to begin the fourth, it was the closest they would come.
Dallas rattled off six unanswered points, including a fast-break dunk from Nowitzki, to put the lead back at 14 and out of Orlando’s reach.
“We saw a pretty good team,” Magic coach Brian Hill said. “Obviously, we can’t spot a team a 16-point first quarter, especially a good team like that, and win the game. They ran by us early in the game, shot over us, went around us to start the game and we tried to play catch-up from that point on. It was too hard to do with a team of this caliber.”
|