Dirk Nowitzki was right, and, as a result, the Dallas Mavericks are in playoff position again.
Nowitzki scored 7 of his 32 points in overtime, and added 10 rebounds and six assists, leading the Mavericks to a 128-119 victory over visiting Oklahoma City on Tuesday night.
In Dallas’s 107-104 OT loss to Brooklyn on Sunday, he was 2 for 12 from the field in his worst shooting performance of the season.
The victory pushed Dallas into eighth place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of idle Phoenix.
Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 43 points. He has scored at least 25 in 36 consecutive games, the longest such streak since Michael Jordan’s 40-game run in the 1986-87 season.
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Dallas’s Jose Calderon went 6 for 8 from 3-point range and finished with 22 points.
Russell Westbrook scored 23 for Oklahoma City, all in regulation, when he played 31:50. Westbrook is limited to 30 to 32 minutes per game because of his oft-injured right knee.
The Mavericks scored the first 5 points of the extra period on two free throws by Nowitzki and a 3-pointer by Calderon. They never trailed again.
Cavaliers 102, Raptors 100 — Dion Waiters scored 24 points and Luol Deng added 19 as Cleveland beat Toronto, despite blowing a 21-point lead, to snap a five-game home losing streak.
Kyle Lowry scored 22 for the Raptors, who had a chance to tie it in the final seconds but guard Greivis Vasquez lost his footing and committed a turnover with 1.9 seconds left.
Lakers 127, Knicks 96 — Xavier Henry scored 22 points and Nick Young added 20 as host Los Angeles trounced New York.
Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points in a losing effort.
Magic 95, Trail Blazers 85 — Tobias Harris had 25 points and 11 rebounds, as host Orlando beat Portland to stop a nine-game losing streak.
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