DALLAS — Caron Butler scored seven of his 23 points in a key run for Dallas to start the second half and the Mavericks went on to win their fifth consecutive game, 106-95 over the struggling Miami Heat on Saturday night.
Even though LeBron James and Dallas-born Chris Bosh have joined Dwyane Wade in Miami, the Mavericks extended their regular-season dominance over the Heat (9-8).
Dallas has won 13 consecutive games in the series since March 2004, and 16 of 17. That doesn’t include the 2006 NBA Finals, when the Heat won in six games after losing the first two.
Miami lost for the fourth time in five games. The Heat were coming off a 99-90 home victory over Philadelphia on Friday night that snapped a three-game losing streak.
James had 23 points despite making only 5 of 19 shots. Bosh and Wade both had 22 points.
Dirk Nowitzki had 22 points for Dallas, while Tyson Chandler had 14 points and 17 rebounds.
In other NBA games, Mo Williams scored 25 points, J.J. Hickson added 16,and the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped out of a fourth-quarter offensive funk just in time to beat the visiting Memphis Grizzlies 92-86. Williams hit a clutch 10-foot floater with 6.5 seconds left, added a season-high 12 assists and made 4 three-pointers for the Cavaliers. ... Dorell Wright scored a career-high 30 points and set a franchise record with nine three-pointers to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 104-94 victory over the host Minnesota Timberwolves. ... Dwight Howard scored a season-high 32 points, including the game-winning putback with 4.3 seconds left, and had 11 rebounds to give the Orlando Magic a 100-99 victory over the host Washington Wizards. ... Jamal Crawford scored a game-high 21 points off the bench, and the Atlanta Hawks held off the host New York Knicks 99-90.
Sports, Pages 29 on 11/28/2010