Mavericks slap Lakers at home

Dirk Nowitzki and Antoine Walker scored 27 points each, Steve Nash added 23, and the Mavericks ended a 26-game losing streak on the Lakers' home court with a 110-93 victory last night.

The Mavericks' futility began 13 years to the date when they won in overtime at the Forum in Inglewood Dec. 12, 1990. Dallas also stopped its road losing skid at four games, its longest since the 1999-00 season.

The defeat was the Lakers' first at Staples Center this season after 12 victories and snapped their regular-season home winning streak at 27 games.

Dallas's Josh Howard had 17 points and 13 rebounds starting in place of injured guard Michael Finley, who sprained his right big toe in a 1-point loss to the Clippers Wednesday.

Shaquille O'Neal had 25 points and 14 rebounds, Kobe Bryant had 15 points, and Karl Malone added 14 points. Gary Payton was ejected for two technical fouls in the first quarter, and his backup, Derek Fisher, shot 0 for 10.

Dallas started quickly and had the Lakers down, 33-19, after a wild first quarter.

The Lakers had four technical fouls in the period, including two that resulted in Payton's ejection.

While bringing the ball upcourt, Payton was called for a technical foul. Referee Steve Javie asked for the ball and Payton responded by tossing it past him, earning a second technical and automatic ejection.

Barely a minute later, Malone apparently uttered an expletive at Nowitzki and received a technical from Javie. Earlier in the period, O'Neal was called for committing a flagrant foul against Nowitzki.

Nuggets 86, 76ers 77 -- Andre Miller had 23 points and Marcus Camby had 16 points and 17 rebounds, leading host Denver over Philadelphia. Each of Denver's starters scored in double figures as the vastly improved Nuggets snapped a two-game losing skid.

Allen Iverson, back after missing one game with a knee injury, missed 16 of 22 shots and finished with 18 points.

Glenn Robinson, who had missed the last 15 games with a sprained left ankle, had 6 points. It was just the fifth time this season Iverson and Robinson played together.

Pacers 103, Hawks 92 -- Fred Jones took over after Al Harrington left with an injury, scoring a career-high 18 points to lead host Indiana.

The Hawks rallied in the third quarter behind Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who scored 10 of his 19 points in the quarter, but Jones had 13 points in the quarter as the Pacers were able to increase the lead with Jermaine O'Neal in foul trouble and Harrington out with the injury.

Timberwolves 110, Wizards 91 -- Sam Cassell scored 25 points, Kevin Garnett had 23 points and 16 rebounds, and visiting Minnesota made 17 of its first 22 shots. It was the fourth straight road victory for Minnesota. Washington got within 84-81 early in the fourth quarter before the Timberwolves pulled away with a 14-2 run.

Nets 99, Magic 95 -- Kerry Kittles snapped out of a slump to score 22 points, including three 3-pointers in the final four minutes, in leading visiting New Jersey to its fourth straight victory.

Heat 91, Grizzlies 88 -- Lamar Odom scored a season-high 29 points and host Miami held off a rally to prevent Memphis from setting a franchise record of seven consecutive wins.

Bucks 109, Bulls 95 -- Michael Redd scored 30 points and Damon Jones added a season-high 22, helping host Milwaukee send Chicago to its fourth consecutive loss.

SuperSonics 93, Pistons 72 -- Rashard Lewis scored 33 points and Brent Barry had 18 while holding Richard Hamilton to 10, leading visiting Seattle past slumping Detroit.

Kings 100, Jazz 93 -- Mike Bibby scored 25 points, Peja Stojakovic added 24, and visiting Sacramento held on to win for the eighth straight time. Stojakovic scored 13 of his points in the last five minutes, including seven straight free throws in the final 2:37.

Hornets 96, Warriors 85 -- Baron Davis had 27 points and 12 assists in visiting New Orleans's fourth straight win. Davis scored 19 of his points in the first half, then was held scoreless for about 20 minutes until making a 3-pointer with 4:57 left.