Mavericks Beat Grizzlies Saturday

Mavericks 111, Grizzlies 99

Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks' balanced offense in a 111-99 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.

Shawn Marion had a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds for Dallas, while Monta Ellis had 18 points. Jose Calderon broke out of a shooting slump with 15 points, Samuel Dalembert didn't miss a shot in scoring 14 and Vince Carter added 11 in a reserve role.

Mike Conley led the Grizzlies with 24 points, while Marc Gasol scored 23 and Zach Randolph had 21 points and 14 rebounds.

Calderon had made just 1 of 15 shots from the field in the first two games. Last season's NBA leader in 3-point percentage had been 1 for 8 from beyond the arc before going 3 for 7 on Saturday.

Calderon, who finished 4 for 11 overall from the field, received a pre-game vote of confidence from owner Mark Cuban.

"That's not something that's going to stay," he said. "The shots that were going in his entire career aren't going in. If he's 0 for 73 after 12 games, then we'll talk about it."

Dallas missed its first seven shots before Nowitzki banked in a 3-pointer 2:20 into the game. The Mavericks went on a 13-0 run over 2 1/2 minutes to take a 16-6 lead they never lost.

Memphis came no closer than four points, in the third quarter.

One night after trailing by 16 points after one quarter in a loss at Houston, Dallas bounced back with its own 16-point lead over the Grizzlies, 32-16 after the first quarter.

Dallas' lead reached 47-26 before Memphis outscored the Mavericks 17-2 to get within 49-43 at halftime.

Memphis outrebounded Dallas 18-9 in the third quarter but gave away most of that advantage by committing eight turnovers to the Mavericks' three.

Carter's three-point play with 5 seconds to play in the quarter boosted Dallas' lead to 73-63. Consecutive steals leading to dunks by Ellis and Marion helped the Mavericks rebuild the lead.

Memphis finished just 3 for 16 (19 percent) from 3-point range.

NOTES: Dallas entered the game 52-18 all-time against Memphis, but the Grizzlies had won the previous three meetings and 11 of the last 17. . Dallas will play back-to-back games on all five Fridays and Saturdays in November. . Nowitzki had fouled out Friday for the first time since Nov. 4, 2009, at New Orleans. His seven successful free throws against Memphis gave him 6,186 for his career, moving him past Hall of Famer Bob Pettit for 14th place all-time . Ellis' third steal, in the third quarter, gave him 900 for his career.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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