The Dallas Mavericks held off a Miami rally to beat the Heat 99-93 Sunday in their first meeting since Miami beat Dallas for the National Basketball Association title last season.
The Mavericks have won 20 of their last 21 games to improve their record to 34-8 - best in the NBA.
Josh Howard led Dallas with 25 points, and Jerry Stackhouse added 23 - 16 of them in the final quarter. Dwyane Wade had 31 points in Miami's losing effort.
The Phoenix Suns have won 13 straight games with the trouncing of the Minnesota Timberwolves, 131-102. Shawn Marion grabbed 20 rebounds to go with 17 points for the Suns.
In the only other NBA games Sunday, the San Antonio Spurs tripped up the Philadelphia 76ers, 99-85. And, the Portland Trail Blazers got by the Milwaukee Bucks, 99-95.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
