Dallas Mavericks

Nowitzki, Mavs put away Nets 105-96 after 30K night

Published Mar. 10, 2017 11:59 p.m. ET

DALLAS (AP) -- Harrison Barnes scored 21 points, Dirk Nowitzki had 13 after a slow start in his first game since reaching 30,000 points and the sluggish Dallas Mavericks beat the lowly Brooklyn Nets 105-96 on Friday night.

The Mavericks, appearing flat three nights after a raucous celebration of Nowitzki's milestone, trailed in the fourth quarter with the NBA's worst team missing leading scorer Brook Lopez because of an ankle injury. But they pulled away and matched a season best with a fourth straight win.

Nowitzki, who missed his first four shots after making the first six on his historic night, had a pair of 3-pointers early in the fourth to help get Dallas going.

Isaiah Whitehead scored 24 points for the Nets (11-53), who have dropped 36 of their past 40 games.

Seth Curry made three of four from 3-point range and scored 18 points for the Mavericks, who held on to 10th place in the Western Conference and stayed within 1 games of eighth-place Denver, which beat Boston at home.

Dallas (28-36) won its sixth straight home game and improved to 17-9 since dropping a season-high 16 games under .500 with a loss at Minnesota on Jan. 9. The Mavericks are 6-2 since the All-Star break.

The Mavericks were without new center Nerlens Noel, who was held out because of left knee soreness. He came from Philadelphia at the trading deadline.

Dallas rookie Yogi Ferrell had 17 points in his first game against the team he played 10 games for early in the season.

Ferrell was with Brooklyn's Long Island team in the NBA Development League when the Mavericks signed him in late January because they didn't have a healthy point guard.

TIP-INS

Nets: Coach Kenny Atkinson said he didn't expect Lopez to be out long. He said Lopez sprained his left ankle early against Atlanta in the previous game but played through it. ... Jeremy Lin scored 18 points, and Trevor Booker added 15 with a team-high seven rebounds. ... The Nets were outrebounded 47-35.

Mavericks: Coach Rick Carlisle said Noel would be re-evaluated to see if he's available after missing the front end of a back-to-back. ... J.J. Barea had nine points and three assists in 14 minutes in his return after missing 20 games with a left calf strain. He has missed 42 games because of injuries, 37 because of the recurring calf issue.

UP NEXT

Nets: Host the Knicks on Sunday, their first home game in nearly a month after an eight-game road trip.

Mavericks: Finale of a five-game homestand against Phoenix on Saturday.