DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki scored 44 points, 14 in overtime, and the Dallas Mavericks overcame a hand injury to second-leading scorer Jason Terry for a 115-114 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.

Nowitzki hit three straight jumpers on Dallas' first three possessions of the overtime for a 103-99 lead, and the Mavericks went on to win for the fifth time in six games.

Chicago got within 113-111 with 3.8 seconds left in overtime on Tyrus Thomas' 3-pointer.

But Nowitzki hit a pair of free throws with 2.9 seconds left to close out the Bulls. Nowitzki fell two points short of his season high set Dec. 13 against Oklahoma City.

Ben Gordon scored 28 points, Thomas added 23 points and 12 rebounds, and rookie Derrick Rose had 22 points and nine assists for the Bulls.

Pistons 126, Bucks 121, OT

In Milwaukee, Allen Iverson and Richard Hamilton combined for 15 of Detroit's 17 points in overtime and the Pistons rallied for an overtime win.

Hamilton finished with 38 points, a career high as a reserve and the most off the bench in Pistons' history, and Iverson added 27 points and nine assists to give the Pistons their second straight gritty win after a 3-9 stretch. Rasheed Wallace scored 27 points and Antonio McDyess had 16.

Ramon Sessions scored 20 of his career-high 44 in the fourth quarter and overtime and put Milwaukee up for the final time when he hit two free throws that made it 121-120 with 46 seconds left.

Nets 114, Nuggets 70

In East Rutherford, N.J., Devin Harris scored 14 of his 28 points from the free-throw line, and New Jersey won its season-high fourth straight game.

Rookie Brook Lopez added 15 points and nine rebounds, and Vince Carter had 12 points and eight assists in one of the most impressive performances of the season for Lawrence Frank's young team.

New Jersey built a season-high 20-point lead at the half and extended it to 37 points after third quarters in handing the Nuggets their worst loss of the season.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak and was only the 17th of the season for Denver, which was off to its best 50-game start since joining the NBA in 1976.

76ers 94, Heat 84

In Philadelphia, Andre Miller and Marreese Speights scored 15 points, Royal Ivey ignited a second-half comeback with 11 off the bench, and the 76ers beat Miami.

Dwyane Wade had 21 points and Mario Chalmers added 18 for Miami.

Seven players scored in double figures for Philadelphia, which has won two straight since learning that Elton Brand will have season-ending shoulder surgery Monday.

Rockets 107, Timberwolves 90

In Houston, Yao Ming scored 30 points, Rafer Alston added 22, and the Rockets rallied from a 15-point deficit in the first half to beat Minnesota.

Tracy McGrady added 15 points and Ron Artest 14 for the Rockets, who also overcame Al Jefferson's 36 points to beat Minnesota for the sixth straight time.

Jefferson matched a career high with 22 rebounds, but couldn't keep the Timberwolves from losing for the fifth time in six games.

Clippers 121, Hawks 97

In Atlanta, Al Thornton scored 31 points, and Zach Randolph had 25 in Los Angeles' victory.

The Clippers, whose 21-point win Friday at Memphis stopped an 11-game road losing streak, improved to 7-19 away from the Staples Center. And they were barely challenged by the Eastern Conference's fourth-best home team. Los Angeles earned consecutive wins for the first time since Dec. 16, a span of 26 games.

Atlanta, which had its two-game winning streak end, played its first game this season without starting point guard Mike Bibby, who injured his foot the previous night at Charlotte and wasn't in uniform for the game.

Grizzlies 78, Raptors 70

In Memphis, Tenn., O.J. Mayo scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth period, including nine straight, in the Grizzlies' win.

Mayo's 3-pointer with 25.7 seconds left was costly for the Raptors, who had erased a 13-point lead in the second half and lost their sixth straight.

Memphis has won three of four.

Hakim Warrick matched Mayo's 16 points and both grabbed eight rebounds. Mike Conley scored 15 points and handed out eight assists.

Jose Calderon led the Raptors with 18 points and five assists.




© Copyright Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.