Mavs continue dominance of Grizzlies

Dirk Nowitzki poured in 20 points and grabbed 11 boards for the Mavericks, who have beaten the Grizzlies nine straight times. Jason Terry contributed 14 points, as the Mavericks triumphed for the 12th time in their last 14 contests overall.

Rudy Gay scored 18 points for the Grizzlies, who have dropped three of their last four contests. Kyle Lowry managed 17 points, while Juan Carlos Navarro added 16. Pau Gasol had 13 points in the loss.

A Howard reverse layup capped a 10-2 Dallas run to end the first 12 minutes, as the Mavs headed into the second frame up 33-19.

The Grizzlies managed to cut their deficit to nine points, 41-32, on a Navarro bucket with 5:33 to play before halftime. Another Mavs 10-2 run, though, increased their cushion to 17 points.

The Mavericks took a 61-44 lead into halftime after Brandon Bass hit a jumper from the baseline with less than a second left.

A Nowitzki steal and tip-in at the other end led to the Mavs opening up a 20-point lead, 66-46, with just over nine minutes to go in the third stanza.

A Howard jump shot kick-started a 13-2 Dallas run that gave the Mavs their biggest lead of the game, 82-53. Trenton Hassell closed out the surge with a bucket of his own with 2:50 remaining in the third quarter.

Memphis battled back and closed out the third on a 10-2 run. Hakim Warrick started and capped the burst with shots from the charity stripe, but the Grizzlies still headed into the final 12 minutes trailing 84-63.

After falling behind by 23 on a Nowitzki fadeaway jumper, Gasol sparked a 9-2 run with a three-point play. Gay closed out the surge with a pair of foul shots that pulled Memphis to 93-77 with just over 6 1/2 minutes left in play. However, that was as close as the Grizzlies would get, as the Mavericks cruised to victory.

Dallas never trailed at any point during the game.

Game Notes

Jose Juan Barea had nine points for Dallas, which shot a scorching 80 percent from the free-throw line. Memphis hit only 61.8 percent from the line...Dallas outrebounded its opponent 47-33...Memphis' seven turnovers tied a season low.