DALLAS' Dirk Nowitzki banked in a jumper with 5.9 seconds left and scored a game-high 28 points to lead the Mavericks to a comeback 100-98 win over the host Orlando Magic in the NBA yesterday.

The Mavericks trailed by 15 points in the third quarter before rallying in the final period, aided by a plethora of turnovers by the Magic. Jason Terry had 10 points in the quarter and 17 in the game.

Orlando had 16 turnovers, which led to 20 points for the Mavericks. Orlando lost to Dallas for the sixth straight time at home.

Jameer Nelson scored 24 points to lead the Magic.

BULLS 83, PISTONS 71

In Chicago, the hosts beat Detroit for the 14th straight time.

Luol Deng scored 20 points and Joakim Noah added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulls, who scored the final eight points after the Pistons closed within four with just under 5 minutes left.

Chicago improved its league-best record to 42-11 even though star Derrick Rose and Richard Hamilton remained sidelined by injuries.

Brandon Knight scored 16 points for the Pistons.

HAWKS 100, KNICKS 90

In Atlanta, Joe Johnson scored 28 points to lead Atlanta past former coach Mike Woodson and New York.

Willie Green carried the Hawks home by scoring 15 of his 20 points in the final period, including a 3-pointer from the corner that stretched Atlanta's lead to 94-84.

Woodson, who coached the Hawks from 2004-10, returned to Philips Arena for the first time as the Knicks interim coach. His team was missing injured starters Amare Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin.

Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 36 points.

ROCKETS 98, GRIZZLIES 89

In Houston, Goran Dragic scored a season-high 25 points as Houston beat Memphis at home for the 12th straight time.

Dragic has been starting at point guard with Kyle Lowry out with an illness. Friday's performance extended his streak of double digit scoring games to a career-high 14 in a row.

Courtney Lee added 17 for the Rockets.

Rudy Gay had 20 points to lead Memphis, which started a span of seven games in nine days on Friday.

HEAT 113, RAPTORS 101

In Toronto, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh scored 30 points each as Miami notched its seventh straight win over Toronto.

DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points for the Raptors.

CELTICS 100, TIMBERWOLVES 79

In Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett had 24 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in his return to Target Center, leading Boston past Minnesota.

Paul Pierce had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Celtics, who have won four in a row.

Kevin Love had 22 points and 11 rebounds for Minnesota but succumbed to Garnett's physical defense in a battle between the face of the Timberwolves past and present.

The Wolves turned the ball over 21 times to see their playoff hopes take a hit. They entered 2? games out of the eighth spot in the West.

CLIPPERS 98, TRAIL BLAZERS 97

In Los Angeles, Chris Paul made a driving layup with 5 seconds to go, lifting Los Angeles past Portland for its season high-tying fourth straight victory.

The Clippers trailed by two when Paul got the ball to Randy Foye, who hit a 3-pointer with 47 seconds left to put the Clippers ahead 96-95. Jamal Crawford responded with a 22-footer and Portland led by one with 13 seconds left.

Paul dribbled around before driving to the basket for the winner. Wesley Matthews missed a jumper in the waning seconds for the visitors.

Paul, Blake Griffin and Randy Foye led six Clippers in double figures with 20 points each.

J.J. Hickson led the Blazers with a season-high 29 points and 13 rebounds.

KINGS 104, JAZZ 103

In Salt Lake City, DeMarcus Cousins scored 27 points, including the winning free throw with 3.8 seconds left, to help Sacramento end a four-game losing streak and beat Utah.

Marcus Thornton added 26 points for Sacramento, who won on the road for only the fifth time this season. The result also snapped Utah's seven-game home winning streak.

BUCKS 121, CAVALIERS 84

In Cleveland, Brandon Jennings scored 28 points to lead Milwaukee to a rout of Cleveland.

Ersan Ilyasova scored 20 points in his return from back spasms and sat out the fourth quarter, as did Jennings.

Rookie Kyrie Irving scored 29 points to lead Cleveland before leaving in the fourth quarter with a sprained shoulder. Irving was 11 for 20 from the field, including 6 for 6 on 3s.

Milwaukee, which moved within 1 1/2 games of the East's final playoff spot, scored the first 16 points of the second period and steadily built the lead throughout the game.

WIZARDS 97, 76ERS 76

In Washington, the hosts built a big lead and held on to it for a change, beating Philadelphia and breaking a five-game losing streak.

The loss knocked Philadelphia out of first place in the Atlantic Division, one game behind Boston.

Cartier Martin tied a career-high with 20 points in his second game under a 10-day contract for the Wizards who had blown double-digit leads in their past three home games.

Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young scored 14 apiece for the 76ers.

NETS 102, WARRIORS 100

In Oakland, Gerald Green tied the score with a thundering one-handed dunk from the baseline, then added a go-ahead basket moments later as New Jersey rallied from 19 points down in the second half and edged Golden State.

Gerald Wallace had 24 points and 18 rebounds for the Nets, who ended a six-year losing streak at Oracle Arena. Wallace scored 10 points over the final 6 minutes of the game and blocked a potential tying shot just before time ran out.

David Lee had 27 points and six rebounds for Golden State.

NUGGETS 99, BOBCATS 88

In Charlotte, Arron Afflalo scored 12 of his team-high 19 points in the second half and added 11 rebounds as Denver held off Charlotte.

The Nuggets entered in a three-way tie for seventh place in the Western Conference standings with Houston and Utah and in need of a victory against the worst team in the league.

They got it behind a balanced effort as Ty Lawson had 14 points and 10 assists.

Gerald Henderson had 21 points to lead the Bobcats, who have lost six straight games and remain the only team in the league with fewer than 10 victories.