Mavs pound Sonics

DALLAS – The Dallas Mavericks have used a new formula while matching the NBA’s longest winning streak this season.

They’ve done it with defense and without Dirk Nowitzki as their leading scorer every night.

Josh Howard had 23 points to lead Dallas in scoring for the fourth straight game, and the Mavs beat Seattle 110-91 Saturday night for their 11th straight victory.

“I’m in a good groove, my teammates are finding me and I feel confident,” Howard said. “We’re playing as a team and we wanted to keep this streak alive.”

Dallas’ winning streak coincides with its franchise-record stretch of holding 11 straight opponents to less than 100 points. Seattle came in second in the NBA with 102.3 points per game, but also was coming off a 100-77 loss at Houston the night before.

“You can tell they’re a better defensive team,” said Rashard Lewis, held to nine points on 1-of-11 shooting. “I couldn’t get anything rolling.”

At 37-10 under coach Avery Johnson in his first full season, the Mavericks matched San Antonio atop the Southwest Division with the best record in the Western Conference.

Nowitzki, the team’s leading scorer at 25.6 points a game, has led Dallas in scoring just once in the last seven games. He wasn’t even in when the Mavs made their push against Seattle that finally put it out of reach.

When Nowitzki took a breather late in the third quarter, Dallas led 73-68. By the time he returned with 9:24 left, the lead was 92-78.

“We got a lot of depth, a lot of guys can put the ball in the hole,” Jason Terry said. “Dirk’s still No. 1, but if he isn’t scoring, we’ve got other guys that can pick up the slack.”

Terry finished with 22 points, while Nowitzki (8-of-19 shooting) and Jerry Stackhouse had 17 each. Erick Dampier, coming off the bench for the 11th straight game after starting the first 36, had 11 points and 14 rebounds.

“It speaks to the depth of our team. Guys are going to have off nights,” Stackhouse said. “Dirk’s going to deliver more often than not, but it’s good that he doesn’t feel pressure every night to score 25 or 30 points.”

Ray Allen led Seattle with 17 points.

Lewis, who was averaging 22 points and had made 60 of 110 shots (55 percent) the last 10 games, missed his first nine shots before a fastbreak reverse layup got the SuperSonics within 71-68 in the third quarter. They never got closer.

Mavericks 110, Sonics 91

Percentages: FG .443, FT .850. 3-Point Goals: 4-13, .308 (Allen 2-6, Ridnour 1-1, Radmanovic 1-3, Lewis 0-3). Team Rebounds: 8. Team Turnovers: 16 (18 PTS). Blocked Shots: 8 (Ridnour 3, Swift 3, Petro 2). Turnovers: 15 (Allen 4, Murray 3, Ridnour 3, Collison 2, Lewis, Radmanovic, Wilkins). Steals: 10 (Allen 3, Ridnour 2, Lewis, Radmanovic, Murray, Collison, Swift). Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .473, FT .857. 3-Point Goals: 6-17, .353 (Terry 4-9, Howard 1-2, Stackhouse 1-3, Van Horn 0-3). Team Rebounds: 3. Team Turnovers: 13 (8 PTS). Blocked Shots: 2 (Howard, Griffin). Turnovers: 12 (Nowitzki 3, Howard 2, Stackhouse 2, Terry 2, Dev.Harris, Van Horn, Griffin). Steals: 7 (Terry 3, Van Horn 2, Dampier, Diop). Technical Fouls: Nowitzki, 2:54 second.

A—20,369 (19,200). T—2:02.