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January 4, 2012

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Records fall as Mavs beat Thunder

NO last-second buzzer-beater could save Oklahoma City this time as the Thunder lost a rematch with the Dallas Mavericks 100-87 on Monday to become the last NBA team to record a loss this season.

In a matchup between these teams just four days earlier, Kevin Durant made a three-pointer as time expired to give the Thunder a dramatic win against the Mavericks squad that knocked them out of the Western Conference Finals last season.

Dallas hit back on Monday, taking a seven-point lead at halftime before moving ahead by 15 in the third to hand Oklahoma City (5-1) its first loss.

The Miami Heat also entered the night 5-0, but fell to Atlanta to leave the NBA without any undefeated teams.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points to counter Durant's 27 and the defending NBA champion Mavericks (2-4) made strides after their tough start to the season.

"I feel like we're going to be able to play with anybody ultimately," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle told reporters.

Dallas, having made some key roster changes, stumbled to an 0-3 start but has now won two of its last three games.

New acquisition Vince Carter had 14 points while Shawn Marion added 17 for the Mavericks who made a big move in the second half.

Dallas opened the third quarter with a 14-6 run to move 68-53 ahead and the Thunder were facing an uphill battle from there.

"We didn't have any energy from the beginning," Durant said. "You also have to give credit to Dallas for the effort they made on defense. They made us shoot tough shots and made us see multiple defenders if a guy had the ball."

Russell Westbrook finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in the losing effort for the Thunder.

Elsewhere in the NBA, it was: Timberwolves 106, Spurs 96; Celtics 100, Wizards 92; Pistons 89, Magic 78; Raptors 90, Knicks 85; Suns 102, Warriors 91; Jazz 94, Hornets 90 and Nuggets 91, Bucks 86.

In Miami, Joe Johnson scored 21 points and Tracy McGrady hit a pair of big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Hawks ended Miami's perfect start by beating the Heat 100-92.

McGrady and Al Horford each scored 16 for the Hawks, who opened the final period on a 15-3 run to take control.

McGrady made perhaps the two biggest plays of the night in the final minutes, first throwing a lob to Josh Smith for a dunk, then hitting a 3-pointer that gave the Hawks a 93-84 lead with 2:26 left.

LeBron James scored 28 points, Chris Bosh had 19 and Dwyane Wade finished with 12 for Miami, which led by as many as 10 in the early going and took a four-point lead into the final quarter.

The Heat had won their first five games to start the season.

In Newark, New Jersey, Paul George scored 21 points as the Pacers topped the struggling Nets 108-94 for their fourth win in five games.

Danny Granger added 15 points and David West scored 13 for Indiana.

Deron Williams scored 22 points and rookie MarShon Brooks added 21 for the Brooklyn-bound Nets, who have not led for a second in their two losses at home in their final season in New Jersey.

 

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