Fisher falls, but Mavs win

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

— O.J. Mayo scored 26 points, Chris Kaman added 20 and the Dallas Mavericks snapped a threegame losing streak by beating the Philadelphia 76ers 107-100 Tuesday night.

Mayo and Kaman scored 17 of Dallas’ last 19 points to help the Mavericks win their seventh consecutive at home against the 76ers.

Dorell Wright scored 25 points and Spencer Hawes had 18 for the 76ers, who lost their fourth consecutive game. Philadelphia point guard Jrue Holiday, the team’s leading scorer at nearly 19 points per game, missed his third consecutive game with a sprained left foot.

Dallas point guard Derek Fisher left the game with 6:50 left in the first quarter with a strained right knee and did not return. Fisher (Little Rock Parkview, UALR), who wasn’t expected to play because of the flu, went down to the ground after having his shot blocked by Evan Turner. The 17th-year guard walked slowly to the locker room.

Fisher will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging today to determine the severity of the injury.

“We don’t believe it’s serious,” Coach Rick Carlisle said.

Dallas’ Shawn Marion scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds. The forward surpassed 16,000 points in his career, becoming the 95th player in NBA history to top the milestone.

Turner chipped in with 17 points for the 76ers and Thaddeus Young had 12.

Wright hit seven threepointers, including four in the final quarter to keep Philadelphia close.

Wright’s consecutive threes brought the 76ers to 96-90 with 2:50 left before Mayo and Kaman squashed the rally. Mayo drove past Hawes on consecutive layups and Kaman hit a bank shot to make it 102-91 with 1:36 remaining.

Wright made two more three-pointers to make it 102-97 with 30.2 seconds left, but the Mavericks closed it out by hitting 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch.

Dallas was coming off an 0-3 road trip where it committed 65 turnovers.

Neither team led by more than five points in the third quarter.

Wright hit a three that put Philadelphia on top 74-71 with 50.7 seconds left in the third.

Mayo tied it with a three and hit two free throws to give Dallas the lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Darren Collison, who played 30 minutes in place of Fisher, scored the final five points of the first half to give the Mavericks a 57-52 halftime lead.

Young snuck inside for a tip-in off a miss to tie the game at 52 with 59.5 seconds left before halftime. Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle immediately called a timeout and ripped into his team in the huddle.

Collison responded with a three-pointer and then hit two free throws with 2.7 seconds remaining to put Dallas ahead by five at halftime.

In other games, Mo Williams scored 19 points, Al Jefferson had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and the Utah Jazz beat the host Brooklyn Nets 92-90 despite nearly throwing away the victory. Utah turned it over on two inbounds passes in the final 31 seconds, the last leading to a Nets steal. They pushed it uand got a potential go-ahead three-pointer from Gerald Wallace that missed. The Jazz escaped when Reggie Evans’ follow shot was no good as time expired. Joe Johnson (Little Rock Central, Arkansas Razorbacks) scored 21 points for the Nets. ... Dwyane Wade scored 24 points, LeBron James added 22 points and 11 assists and the host Miami Heat survived a 52-24 rebounding differential to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 103-92. ... Jose Calderon scored a season-high 23 points, and the Toronto Raptors won on the road for the second time this season by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-99. ... Lou Williams scored a season-high 24 points and Josh Smith had 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 100-95 overtime victory over thehost Washington Wizards. ... Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer scored 21 points apiece, Joakim Noah had a 11 points, 13 rebounds and a career hightying 10 assists and the host Chicago Bulls beat the Boston Celtics 100-89. ... Brandon Jennings scored 13 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter and Monta Ellis had 19 points, leading the host Milwaukee Bucks to a 98-93 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Sports, Pages 26 on 12/19/2012