SAN ANTONIO — Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks over the San Antonio Spurs 92-86 in a showdown of the top two teams in the Western Conference on Friday night.
The Mavericks (57-19) cut the Spurs' lead to one game in the Southwest Division with both teams having six games left to play.
At stake is the top seed in the Western Conference with the team that finishes second getting the No. 4 seed. The Mavericks and Spurs split the season series, which is the first tiebreaker.
Dallas has a half-game lead in the second tiebreaker, which is won-loss record in the Southwest Division.
Josh Howard scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half for the Mavericks.
Manu Ginobili led San Antonio (58-18) with 22 points.
The Mavericks limited Tim Duncan to 13 points on 5-for-15 shooting in 38 minutes. Tony Parker, the Spurs leading scorer this season, had 10 points and three assists in 31 minutes.
Dallas shot 51 percent from the field and held San Antonio to just 38 percent shooting.
The Spurs led by 11 points midway through the second quarter. But the Mavericks erased that deficit to even the score in the final two minutes of the half.
Dallas jumped out to a 63-59 lead 5:52 into the second half. Nowitzki scored 12 points in the third quarter, going 5-for-6 from the field and added two free throws.
The Mavericks led 71-65 at the end of the third quarter. The teams traded baskets for most of the fourth quarter with the Spurs cutting the lead to three when Parker scored on a drive with 1:42 left in the game. But the Mavericks kept the Spurs scoreless the rest of the way when Ginobili and Bruce Bowen missed shots and Duncan was called for traveling.
Just as they had in their previous meeting 36 days earlier when the Mavericks pulled out to a quick lead, Dallas gained an early advantage again when Howard scored 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting in the first quarter.
With Howard on the bench for the opening 6:39 of the second quarter and Nowitzki struggling with his shot — he missed 7 of 9 shots to start the game — San Antonio went on a 14-2 run to built an 11-point lead.
CELTICS 109, 76ERS 99: At Philadelphia, Paul Pierce had 33 points and 12 rebounds, Gerald Green scored a career-high 17 points and Boston extended Philadelphia's late-season misery. The Sixers lost their third straight game this week and wasted a fantastic opportunity to gain ground in the Eastern Conference. They lost by 33 at Cleveland, by seven points against Chicago in a game that knocked them out of the final playoff spot and squandered this one against the Celtics.
MAGIC 89, PISTONS 87: At Orlando, Fla., Jameer Nelson hit two last-minute shots, the second a fadeaway jumper with 6.5 seconds left, and Hedo Turkoglu had 26 points and seven rebounds to help Orlando beat Detroit.
Trailing by two with 3 seconds remaining, Detroit's Tony Delk missed two free throws. Antonio McDyess corralled the rebound and put up a 12-foot airball, which Dwight Howard grabbed as time expired.
The win was the Magic's ninth straight at home and snapped the Pistons' six-game winning streak.
Howard had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Tony Battie had 11 points for Orlando. Chauncey Billups led Detroit with 25 points and eight assists, while Delk scored 18 and Tayshaun Prince chipped in 15.
HAWKS 114, WIZARDS 101: At Atlanta, Josh Smith scored 25 points and hit a key late 3-pointer to help the Hawks end an eight-game losing streak against the Wizards. Gilbert Arenas scored 41 points and Antawn Jamison added 24 for the Wizards, who couldn't match the Hawks' superior balance. Backup center Brendan Haywood scored 11 points and was Washington's only other scorer in double figures.
KNICKS 98, PACERS 96: At New York, Jamal Crawford hit his second game-winning basket in three nights, making a jumper with 0.5 seconds left to lift the Knicks over Indiana. Though the Knicks (21-54) don't win often, Crawford is developing a reputation as a clutch player. All of New York's last three victories have come with him hitting the go-ahead basket in the closing seconds, including Wednesday's 96-94 victory over Cleveland.
Crawford finished with 23 points and Nate Robinson had 16 for the Knicks, who broke open the game midway through the final quarter, but needed more heroics from Crawford after the Pacers fought back with their 3-point shooting.
Peja Stojakovic scored 32 points and Jermaine O'Neal added 25 for the Pacers, who have lost seven straight road games.
HORNETS 95, RAPTORS 89: At Oklahoma City, David West scored 19 points and Chris Paul added 16, including a jumper in the final minute, to help New Orleans beat Toronto. New Orleans led the entire game but couldn't put the Raptors away until a 12-2 run midway through the fourth quarter.
Mike James finished with 36 points — two short of his career high — on 7-for-10 shooting from 3-point range for the Raptors.
GRIZZLIES 100, BUCKS 90: At Memphis, Tenn., Pau Gasol had 33 points and 14 rebounds and Chucky Atkins made two key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to lead Memphis over Milwaukee.
Gasol scored six points in the final 3 minutes to help the Grizzlies sweep their three-game homestand and move closer to clinching the franchise's third straight playoff berth.
SUPERSONICS 121, TRAIL BLAZERS 108: At Portland, Ore., Ray Allen scored 38 points and moved into second place on the career 3-pointers list.
Juan Dixon matched his season high with 28 points and Theo Ratliff added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Blazers, who couldn't avenge a 122-83 loss to the Sonics on Sunday in Seattle.
Chris Wilcox had 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Seattle, which has won three games in a row for the first time since Dec. 4.
Allen moved past former Sonic Dale Ellis on the 3-point list, hitting the 1,720th of his career in the second quarter. A nine-year veteran, Allen is still more than 800 3's short of all-time leader Reggie Miller.