Mavericks pull away, beat Sonics

Jason Terry scored 22 points, Josh Howard added 17, and the Dallas Mavericks crept closer to a playoff berth with a 99-83 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Tuesday night at Dallas.

The Mavericks came into the game with a two-game lead over Denver and Golden State in the race for seventh place in the Western Conference.

Dallas couldn’t shake the lowly Sonics – who lost their club-record 60th game – until it went on an 18-4 run to build a 20-point advantage in the fourth.

Brandon Bass scored 13 off the bench for the Mavericks, and Dirk Nowitzki chipped in with 11 points and 12 rebounds in his fourth game since returning from knee and ankle injuries.

Earl Watson had 22 points and eight assists for Seattle. Kevin Durant added 16 points, and Jeff Green and Nick Collison each had 11.

The Mavericks beat the Sonics for the 13th straight time, dating to Dec. 9, 2004.

Seattle has also lost 10 straight on the road.

Sonics’ Sene will have knee surgery

Seattle center Mouhamed Sene will have surgery on his right knee to repair a torn lateral meniscus. He was injured while playing with the Idaho Stampede of the NBDL.