Mavericks down Rockets 97-88
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-02-22 17:18

Dirk Nowitzki had 25 points and 12 rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks recovered from a 16-point first-quarter deficit for a 97-88 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.

Michael Finley contributed 19 points and Antoine Walker added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks, who began a stretch of five consecutive home games against Western Conference teams.

Houston opened the game with a 19-3 run and was in front by 14 at the end of the first quarter against a lethargic Dallas defense. But the Mavericks began to run, finishing with a 24-4 advantage in fast-break points for their sixth victory in eight games.

Jim Jackson's 18 points and Cuttino Mobley's 16 paced the Rockets, who've lost all six meetings against the Mavericks with Yao Ming in the lineup. Yao has won against every other NBA team.

Yao, who picked up his fourth foul with 7:22 left in the third quarter, finished with 14 points and five rebounds.

The Mavericks led by as many as 17 in the fourth quarter, and a late rally could only pull Houston as close as 94-88 on Steve Francis' dunk with 32.4 seconds left.

Dallas quickly wiped out Houston's four-point halftime edge, opening the third quarter with a 14-3 spurt capped by Walker's layup for a 61-54 lead.

The Mavericks closed the third quarter with a 12-3 spurt triggered by consecutive 3-pointers from Nowitzki and Finley to build a 78-66 edge.

Yao had six of Houston's first 11 points as he exploited his eight-inch height advantage over Mavericks starter Scott Williams. Dallas had three points and as many turnovers over the first five minutes.

The Rockets converted eight of their first nine field goal attempts while the Mavericks were missing 12 of their first 13.

Houston was in front after the first quarter, 30-16.

Dallas rallied with an 18-3 second-quarter run capped by Steve Nash's 3-pointer to take a 40-39 lead.

The Rockets held a 51-47 halftime advantage, scoring 15 of their 21 second-quarter points on 3-pointers.

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