National Basketball Association

Barea's 29 points lead Dallas to 98-89 win over Pistons

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:00 p.m. ET

foxsports

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) J.J. Barea scored 29 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 19 as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons 98-89 on Friday night.

The win moved Dallas a half-game ahead of Utah for seventh place in the Western Conference, with the Jazz playing later Friday.

Even with the loss, Detroit leads eighth-place Indiana by a half-game and ninth-place Chicago by 1 1/2 games in the East. The Pistons visit the Bulls on Saturday.

Marcus Morris led the Pistons with a season-high 29 points, while Andre Drummond had 12 points and 17 rebounds.

Morris scored 16 points in the first quarter, but Detroit's reserves struggled at the start of the second. Dallas put up the first 15 points of the quarter to take a 40-25 lead, forcing Stan Van Gundy to rush his starters back onto the floor.

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This story has been corrected to J.J. Barea instead of Jose.