It was far from beautiful, but the Mavericks can’t worry too much about beautiful right now. Playing their third game in four days and coming off of a 77-point performance in Chicago, Dallas gave up the lead late but managed a pair of critical stops in the last minute and saw a Dirk Nowitzki fade-away from the right elbow roll in with six seconds remaining to secure their second win in three after breaking a six-game losing streak.
Nowitzki had to work for his 23, as he hit just seven of 24 shots while being hounded by Kris Humphries, Travis Outlaw and Stephen Graham. Tyson Chandler backed him up with a 19-point, 8-rebound performance. New Jersey was led by Brooke Lopez with 24.
Dallas shot just 35% from the field but lived off of their 27-29 from the free-throw line and forced 17 Nets turnovers, including six from Lopez. They’re off until Tuesday, when they’ll host Blake Griffin and his Clippers.