Mavericks 103, Hornets 100
DALLAS — Michael Finley had 31 points and 10 rebounds, and Dirk Nowitzki added 27 points as the Dallas Mavericks ended a two-game losing streak with a 103-100 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.
Steve Nash had 22 points for the Mavericks, who lost more than two in a row only once this season, a three-game skid from Jan. 11-15.
David Wesley and Elden Campbell each had 25 points for the Hornets, who lost two straight for the first time since dropping four in a row Feb. 1-6.
Charlotte had been the league's hottest team, winning 13 of 15 before Friday night's overtime loss at Chicago and Saturday night's defeat.
Dallas wrapped up a stretch of seven home games in eight dates. The Mavericks open a five-game road trip Monday night in Utah that also includes stops against Portland, the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento and Houston.
The Mavericks seemed to have the game in hand midway through the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run, capped by Juwan Howard's basket, for a 95-81 advantage.
But the Hornets rallied with a 13-2 spurt, capped by P.J. Brown's two free throws with 1:20 left, that cut the Mavericks' lead to 97-94.
Dallas moved out to a 101-94 lead with 52.8 seconds remaining on Shawn Bradley's layup and Finley's two free throws .
Brown's basket and Campbell's dunk with 21 seconds remaining reduced Dallas' lead to 101-98.
CAVALIERS 117, NUGGETS 105: At Cleveland, ex-Ute star Andre Miller had 24 points and 13 assists as Cleveland won back-to-back games for the first time in two months.
Seven players scored in double figures for Cleveland, which went 4-23 since earning back-to-back wins against Portland and Chicago in January.
SUPERSONICS 93, ROCKETS 90: At Seattle, Ruben Patterson scored 23 points, including the game-winning layup with 12.3 seconds left, as Seattle dealt Houston its third straight loss.
Gary Payton had 21 points and eight assists, Jelani McCoy added 12 points and Vin Baker 11 for the Sonics.
The Rockets dropped 3 1/2 games behind idle Minnesota in the battle for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
WARRIORS 103, PISTONS 95: At Oakland, Calif., even the Golden State Warriors couldn't give this one away.
Antawn Jamison scored 34 points and Mookie Blaylock capped his triple-double by hitting the clinching jumper with 30 seconds left as the Warriors snapped their 11-game losing streak, beating the Detroit Pistons 103-95 on Saturday night.