Streak at 14 as Mavs hold off Cavs

Basketball Betting Lines

03/02/2007 - Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dirk Nowitzki continued his push for the league's MVP and the Mavericks equaled a franchise-record with their 14th straight win, escaping a pair of missed three-pointers from LeBron James in the final few seconds for a 95-92 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Nowitzki had 24 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, as the Mavericks nearly blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead before holding on for their 21st consecutive home win, extending a franchise record.

Jason Terry ended with 20 points and Josh Howard contributed 17 points and 10 boards for Dallas, which tied the 14-0 start of the 2002-03 team for the longest winning streak. That mark can be broken Saturday night at home against Orlando.

Dallas has won 10 of the last 12 meetings against the Cavaliers, but this victory wasn't secured until the final seconds. The incredible string by the Mavericks, which includes wins in 35 of their last 37 games, moved their record to a league-best 49-9.

Cleveland nearly won despite being without two of its players. Larry Hughes was out with the flu, and Damon Jones missed the game with back spasms. That meant LeBron James had to pick up the slack, and he did to the tune of 39 points on 17-of-27 shooting, but the All-Star missed two free throws and a pair of threes in the final 13.7 seconds, as the Cavs lost for the third time in four games.

Donyell Marshall's driving layup cut Cleveland's deficit to 94-89 with 1:52 left, but he and Sasha Pavlovic both missed three-point tries moments later.

Marshall was then called for a loose-ball foul on Howard, who made one free throw with 46.8 seconds left.

James, though, completed a three-point play with 41 seconds left before Terry missed on a drive to the basket, and James was fouled on a drive to the bucket with 13.7 seconds to go. James missed both foul shots, but the Cavs got the ball back when Dallas tipped it out of bounds with 10.3 showing.

James then missed a long three from the top of the circle, but the ball caromed off the front of the rim back to him. He then pump-faked before missing his second try off the back of the rim as time expired.

Erick Dampier added 10 points and nine rebounds for Dallas, which also got 10 points from Jerry Stackhouse.

Marshall scored 14 and Pavlovic 11 for the Cavaliers.

The Mavs led 27-23 after one quarter and were in front 52-42 at the half. They remained ahead by double digits most of the third, carrying a 74-62 cushion going into the fourth. That margin grew to 89-75 following two Nowitzki free throws with 6:21 left before Cleveland rallied.

Game Notes

Cleveland has lost seven straight and nine of its last 12 at Dallas...Dallas' last loss at home was on December 7th against the Detroit Pistons. The Mavs last loss overall was January 25 at Chicago...This was the first of two meetings between the squads this season. Cleveland is scheduled to host the Mavericks on March 21.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.


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