Clutch Performance - 95-85

Dallas dominated the fourth quarter against Matt Barnes (22) and the Magic. Brendan Haywood (33) played his best game as a Maverick, scoring 15 points on 6-10 shooting. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

After a Matt Barnes lay-up made it 69-58 Orlando with 1:49 to go in the third quarter, the proposition of a Mavericks victory wasn't looking very good as Dallas hadn't led since the first quarter.

The Dallas Mavericks (34-21) then went on a 19-0 run until Jameer Nelson made a basket with 8:25 left in the fourth quarter. The Mavs had taken their first lead of the game since it was 21-20 in the first, up 77-71, over the Orlando Magic (37-19).

Orlando got as close as three points (81-78) with 4:50 left in the fourth, before Dallas went on a 14-7 run to close the game. Jason Kidd scored eight of his 10 points in the fourth, including a three-point dagger that put Dallas up 88-81, effectively ending any thoughts of a Magic comeback.

"We obviously needed that spurt to get back in control of the game," said Rick Carlisle, referring to Dallas' 19-0 run. "We get some stops, get the ball in Jason Kidd's hand and great things happen for us, but it was the defensive end that triggered a lot of good stuff."

Speaking of the Mavs D, the Magic committed seven turnovers and shot only 7-22 from the field from the 1:49 mark of the third quarter on. Orlando then scored only 16 points in the fourth quarter that Dallas dominated 30-16.

"We're capable of playing good defense and we showed that," said Dirk Nowitzki, who had a team-high three blocks and a couple of steals.

Nowitzki also led Dallas with 23 points, shrugging off a slow start (4-12 in the first half) to score 13 points in the third quarter on 5-7 shooting. Caron Butler had his best scoring outing for Dallas, as he scored 16 points and pulled down seven boards.

The Magic's Dwight Howard was a one-man wrecking crew as he led the Magic with 29 points, 16 rebounds, and five blocks. Howard was Orlando's only consistent scorer as the rest of the Magic were content on hoisting up three-pointers as they shot 16 percent (4-25), there lowest percentage of the season, from behind the arc.

"Obviously our shooting was horrendous, but I can't really say I'm upset," said Magic coach Ron Jeremy err Stan Van Gundy. "Every shot those guys took was wide open and we didn't make any. That's not typical of us."

I think the Mavericks (and anyone who saw the game) would disagree with that assessment.

Haywood Has His Best Game For Dallas

The Mavericks forced the Magic into shooting only 41.2 percent from the field in Friday night's game in Orlando and Brendan Haywood was the anchor of that Dallas defense.

In the first half, when Haywood played sparingly because of two early fouls, Orlando shot 47 percent from the field and scored 47 points. In the second half, with Haywood seeing more action, the Magic shot less than 38 percent and scored only 38 points.

Haywood grabbed nine rebounds, blocked two shots and had the highest +/- of any Mavericks player at +20. Throw in his best scoring game as a Maverick (15 points) on 6-10 shooting and you have a glimpse of how good this Dallas team is going to be with Haywood at center.

"The guy that really made this trade work for us is Brendan Haywood and he showed why tonight, " said Nowitzki. "He was battling in there."

Whats Next

Dallas has yet another quick turnaround as they travel back to Dallas to take on the Miami Heat Saturday night.

Dallas won in Miami on Dec.11, 106-93, in the only other meeting between the two teams this season. The Heat have won their past five games dating back to Feb. 9, two of which without Dwyane Wade for all or most of the game, pushing their record to 29-27 - good for seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

Miami is a respectable 15-15 on the road this season, but have a tough test against the Mavericks in Dallas, especially if Wade doesn't play.

Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. can be seen nationally on NBA TV and locally on Fox Sports Southwest.

News and Notes:

• The Mavericks 19-0 run from the third to the fourth quarter was the second-longest in the NBA this season only to the Boston Celtics 22-0 run in agame earlier this season.
• With four steals against the Magic, Jason Kidd has recorded four or more steals in a game 10 times this season. Dallas is 8-2 in those contests.
• Jason Terry scored 16 points on 6-11 shooting, and has averaged 20 points a game over his last 12 games.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)