LOS ANGELES -Dirk Nowitzki had 24 points and nine rebounds, leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 93-84 victory over the winless Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.
Jason Terry scored 16 points off the bench, including a 3-pointer that put the Mavericks in front to stay with 5:07 left.
The Clippers made only one field goal over the final 7:12, a seven-foot hook shot by Chris Kaman, who led Los Angeles with a career-high 27 points on 12-for-19 shooting. He had 11 rebounds.
The Clippers' 7-foot center, in his seventh NBA season, has scored at least 20 points in three consecutive games for the first time in his pro career after getting 22 on Wednesday against Phoenix and 21 on Friday at Utah. Only four other times had Kaman he recorded 20 or more in back-to-back contests.
This is only the fifth time in the Clippers' 40 years of operation that the club lost its first four games. Last year, they started out 0-6 before beating Dallas at Staples Center. They got off to an 0-16 start in 1994-95, and lost their first seven in 1982-83 when the team was based in San Diego. The Clippers also lost their first 17 games of the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, which was 50 games long.
Leading by nine points after three quarters, the Mavericks missed nine of their first 10 shots in the fourth and committed three turnovers as the Clippers went on an 11-2 run that pulled them into an 82-all tie with 7:12 to play. Gordon hit a 3-pointer during the rally and Craig Smith capped it with a layup.
But Jason Terry answered with the Mavericks' third 3-pointer of the game and Erick Dampier helped seal it with an alley-oop dunk with 2:15 left. Dampier had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Jason Kidd had 10 assists along with three points and six rebounds.
The Mavericks, coming off a victory over the NBA champion Lakers on Friday, could do no better than a 55-all tie with the Clippers at halftime. Kaman led all scorers in the half with 19 points.
Neither team led by more than six until Nowitzki made one of two free throws with 4:22 left in the third quarter to give Dallas a 69-62 advantage. The Mavericks took their biggest lead, 74-62, on a 16-footer by Nowitzki that capped a 17-3 run with 2:47 remaining in the quarter.
Dallas played without reserve forward Drew Gooden, who strained a muscle on his right side early in the fourth quarter against the Lakers and will undergo an MRI when the team returns to Dallas. The Mavericks also were missing Josh Howard, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle and left wrist in May; and Tim Thomas, who had surgery on his right knee last month.
NOTES: Kaman's previous career high was 26 points, on Nov. 2, 2007, against Golden State, and Dec. 7, 2007, at Sacramento. ... The Clippers have lost 11 of the last 14 games in which Kaman had at least 20 points. ... Nowitzki scored 20 or more points for the 28th consecutive game, the league's longest active streak. His longest such streak is 31 games. ... The Mavericks have won 13 of the last 16 meetings overall against the Clippers, and are 14-6 against them at Staples Center since the arena opened in October 1999. ... Thomas is one of three former Clippers on the Mavericks' roster, including F James Singleton and swingman Quinton Ross.
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