Reserve Terry’s 31 points carry Mavs

DALLAS – Jason Terry’s bid to become Sixth Man of the Year is off to quite a start.

Asked to provide instant offense from the bench this season, Terry did so Monday night, scoring 31 points and guiding a late 14-4 run that carried the Dallas Mavericks past the Houston Rockets 107-98.

Tracy McGrady had 35 points and eight assists, and Yao Ming had 21 points and 11 rebounds, yet the Rockets lost for the first time this season. Houston had been 3-0 under new coach Rick Adelman. Before tipoff, Adelman said he viewed this game and the next one – tonight at home against San Antonio – as true tests of his team’s progress.

Dirk Nowitzki was only 7 of 20 from the field and had 19 points, but that included a 3-pointer that bounced in off the front rim for a big emotional boost during the gamebreaking run. He also had nine rebounds.

Josh Howard had 21 points and DeSagana Diop added 10 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots for Dallas. Jerry Stackhouse scored 16 points on his 33rd birthday, including five in the final rally.