Mavericks' defense overwhelms Cavs
On the night Avery Johnson moved into the NBA record book, the Dallas Mavericks made their defense-oriented coach proud with a little history of their own.
The Mavs erased a 19-point third-quarter deficit by holding the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers to only 8 points -- the fewest they've ever allowed in any quarter -- and kept rallying for a 91-87 victory last night, giving Johnson his record 66th victory over his first 82 games in charge.
Dirk Nowitzki and Marquis Daniels combined for 20 points during Dallas's 29-4 run from the opening minutes of the third quarter to the start of the fourth, putting the Mavericks up by 6. Even after Cleveland's LeBron James, who had 36 points and 12 rebounds, hit a long jumper, Nowitzki answered with a 3-pointer that stretched the lead and got the crowd back on its feet.
Johnson was guaranteed of having the most victories of any coach after the equivalent of a full season regardless of the result; the previous mark was 62 by Paul Westphal.
Suns 129, SuperSonics 120 -- Tim Thomas hit 10 of 11 shots and scored 23 points off the bench, Shawn Marion scored 24 points with 11 rebounds, and visiting Phoenix won for the 13th time in 15 games.
Raja Bell made 10 of 13 shots for 25 points as the Suns shot 56 percent. Ray Allen led Seattle with 33 points.
Bulls 95, Trail Blazers 66 -- Ben Gordon scored 23 points, and host Chicago limited Portland to 35 percent shooting.
The Bulls won back-to-back games for the first time since beating Philadelphia Feb. 16 and Milwaukee Feb. 22. The Bulls play at Milwaukee tonight and trail the 76ers and Bucks by 2 1/2 games for the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
Raptors 111, 76ers 97 -- Chris Bosh scored 31 points and Darrick Martin had a season-high 18 points and 12 assists, leading visiting Toronto over Philadelphia.
Playing without the injured Allen Iverson, the Sixers were led Chris Webber (23 points and 11 rebounds) and John Salmons, who scored a career-high 23 points.
Heat 121, Jazz 83 -- Dwyane Wade scored 19 of his 25 points in the first quarter as host Miami won for the 12th time in 13 games.
Alonzo Mourning had a season-high 19 points for Miami, which posted the fourth-largest margin of victory in franchise history.
Kings 114, Lakers 98 -- Mike Bibby scored 29 points and Ron Artest added 28 and revitalized Sacramento won its 13th straight at Arco Arena to move past Los Angeles into seventh place in the Western Conference.
Spurs 96, Hornets 81 -- Tony Parker had 20 points and 11 assists, Brent Barry made four 3-pointers and all six shots from the floor, and host San Antonio stayed tied with Dallas for the best record in the Western Conference (50-14).
Wizards 119, Bobcats 114 -- Antawn Jamison had 35 points and 16 rebounds to lead visiting Washington over Charlotte.
