Mavs hold off Spurs

Dirk Nowitzki’s big second half moved the Dallas Mavericks closer to first place in the Western Conference.

Nowitzki scored 19 of his 30 points in the second half to lead the Mavericks over the Spurs 92-86 in a showdown of the top two teams in the Western Conference on Friday night.

“Obviously, the difference in the game was Dirk,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He put on an MVP performance. We just couldn’t stop him. He took it away.”

The Mavericks (57-19) cut the Spurs’ lead to one game in the Southwest Division with both teams having six games left to play.

At stake is the top seed in the Western Conference with the team that finishes second getting the No. 4 seed.

“No question, this was a big win for us,” Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. “I thought we showed a lot of mental toughness.”

Nowitzki started the game cold, shooting 2 for 9. But he went 7 for 10 during an 18-minute stretch that saw the Mavericks erase an 11-point deficit midway through the second quarter and build a six-point lead starting the fourth quarter.

“They did a good job on him early, but as the game went on we found ways to get him some shots,” Mavericks guard Jerry Stackhouse said. “Josh Howard kept us afloat and then Dirk was huge in the second half and down the stretch.”

Howard scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half for the Mavericks.

The Mavericks and Spurs split the season series, which is the first tiebreaker.

Dallas has a half-game lead in the second tiebreaker, which is won-loss record in the Southwest Division.

Suns 107, Lakers 96: At Phoenix, Kobe Bryant’s arena-record 51 points weren’t enough to keep Phoenix from beating Los Angeles for the seventh time in a row. Steve Nash had 25 points and eight assists but was on the bench when the Suns pulled away with an 18-4 run to start the fourth quarter.

Celtics 109, 76ers 99: At Philadelphia, Paul Pierce had 33 points and 12 rebounds and Gerald Green scored a career-high 17 points as Boston extended Philadelphia’s late-season misery with a victory. The Sixers lost their third straight game this week and wasted a fantastic opportunity to gain ground in the Eastern Conference.

Magic 89, Pistons 87: At Orlando, Fla., Jameer Nelson hit two last-minute shots, the second a fadeaway jumper with 6.5 seconds left, and Hedo Turkoglu had 26 points and seven rebounds to help Orlando knock off Detroit. Trailing by two with 3 seconds remaining, Detroit’s Tony Delk missed two free throws. Antonio McDyess corralled the rebound and put up a 12-foot airball, which Dwight Howard grabbed as time expired.

•Pistons scoring leader Richard Hamilton missed the game because of a death in his family.

Hawks 114, Wizards 101: At Atlanta, Josh Smith scored 25 points and hit a key late 3-pointer to help Atlanta snap an eight-game losing steak against the Wizards by beating Washington. Joe Johnson scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for the Hawks, who had seven players score in double figures. Zaza Pachulia added 16.

•The Wizards placed forward Caron Butler on the inactive list before the game with a right thumb sprain.

Kings 96, Clippers 93: At Los Angeles, Mike Bibby finished with 30 points, and Ron Artest scored 14 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter to offset Sam Cassell’s late scoring spree as Sacramento knocked off Los Angeles. Sacramento swept the Clippers for the third consecutive season, beating them for the 13th consecutive time and 18th time in 19 meetings.

Rockets 100, Warriors 93: At Oakland, Calif., Yao Ming had 30 points and 14 rebounds, leading Houston past Golden State.

•The Warriors signed guard Will Bynum for the rest of the season.

Jazz 103, Timberwolves 95: At Minneapolis, Carlos Boozer had 30 points and nine rebounds and Mehmet Okur had 19 points and 13 boards to lead Utah past Minnesota.

Deron Williams added 13 points and five assists for the Jazz.

Hornets 95, Raptors 89: At Oklahoma City, David West scored 19 points and Chris Paul added 16, including a jumper in the final minute, to help New Orleans beat Toronto.

Knicks 98, Pacers 96: At New York, Jamal Crawford hit his second game-winning basket in three nights, making a jumper with 0.5 seconds left to help New York knock off Indiana.

Grizzlies 100, Bucks 90: At Memphis, Tenn., Pau Gasol had 33 points and 14 rebounds and Chucky Atkins made two key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to lead Memphis past Milwaukee. Gasol, held to one point in the third quarter, scored six points in the final three minutes to help the Grizzlies sweep their three-game homestand.

Shaq fined for comments

Shaquille O’Neal was fined $15,000 for criticizing referees and an NBA senior vice president after the Miami center was for called for five fouls in the Heat’s loss to New Jersey.

“That was the most ridiculous game I’ve ever been part of,” O’Neal said after the 90-78 loss Sunday. “When you got a guy like Stu Jackson at the top, it shows why referees are the way they are. It starts at the top.”