Dallas

Matthews Scores 21, Mavericks Beat Magic 121-108

Wesley Matthews scored 21 points and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Orlando Magic 121-108 on Tuesday night for their third straight win.

The Mavericks made a season-high 56 percent of their field goal attempts (43 for 77).

Zaza Pachulia had his 24th double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 points, and Chandler Parsons and J.J. Barea each had 17.

Ersan Ilyasova scored 22 points off the bench for the Magic. Nikola Vucevic had 18, all in the first half, and Elfrid Payton and Dewayne Dedmon added 12 apiece.

Dallas scored the final 11 points of the first quarter to take the lead for good and opened the second half with a 13-0 run.

The Mavericks have won four of five during a six-game homestand since a 110-104 loss at Orlando on Feb. 19. Dallas remained in a sixth-place tie with Portland in the Western Conference.

The Magic have lost three of four.

Orlando ran out to a 22-12 lead behind 10 points from Vucevic. The Mavericks came back to tie the game 24-all on Parsons' 3-pointer.

After Brandon Jennings broke the tie with a 3-pointer, the Mavericks scored the last 11 points of the first quarter for a 35-27 lead. David Lee had six of those points.

Parsons led Dallas with nine points in the quarter, and Vucevic also had five rebounds.

The Mavericks shot 65 percent from the field to lead at halftime 69-61. It was their highest-scoring half of the season. Nowitzki and Matthews each had 13 points at halftime.

Neither team scored in the first 2:45 of the second half until Matthews hit a jump shot. Dallas went on its 13-0 run until Orlando's Aaron Gordon made a jump shot with 6:07 gone in the third quarter.

Orlando's Devyn Marble, who had only two points in 10 games this season, made two 3-pointers for six points in the third quarter.

TIP-INS

Magic: Evan Fournier missed his second straight game because of a sore right wrist. Rookie Mario Hezonja started again in Fournier's place. ... Orlando was 9 for 9 from the free-throw line in the first half, but Aaron Gordon missed the Magic's first two tries in the third quarter.

Mavericks: In the first quarter, Dallas' starters totaled minus-10 in the NBA's plus/minus system. The four players off the bench -- Barea, Lee, Raymond Felton and Devin Harris -- were a combined plus-50. Orlando's bench was minus-49. ... Dallas missed only 5 of 16 field goal attempts in the second quarter, then missed their first five in the third quarter.

UP NEXT

Magic: Return home to host Chicago on Wednesday night.

Mavericks: Host Sacramento on Thursday night.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us