Spurs, Mavs Knot Series; Cavs Go 2-Up

Thursday, April 26th 2007, 7:49 am

By: News On 6

DALLAS (AP) _ The Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs evened their NBA first-round series at a game apiece last night while the Cleveland Cavaliers took a 2-0 lead on Washington.

The top-seeded Mavericks bounced back from Sunday's 12-point loss to Golden State by downing the Warriors 112-99. The Mavs took control with a 15-2 run in the third quarter and beat the Warriors for the first time in seven tries since last season.

Jason Terry finished with 28 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 23 and Josh Howard chipped in 22 and a team-high eleven rebounds.

The Warriors finished without Baron Davis, who received a pair of technical fouls in the third quarter.

Stephen Jackson had a game-high 30 points for Golden State.

Game Three is tomorrow in Oakland.

Tim Duncan scored 22 points and Tony Parker added 20 as the Spurs held off Denver 97-88. Duncan also had seven rebounds, five assists and five blocks to help San Antonio bounce back from Sunday's home loss to the Nuggets.

The Nuggets pulled within 91-88 with 45 seconds left after trailing by 17 in the fourth quarter. But Duncan's layup and four free throws iced the win for the Spurs.

Carmelo Anthony had 26 points and ten rebounds for the Nuggets, who host Game Three on Saturday.

Cleveland is up 2-0 in its Eastern Conference quarterfinal series after LeBron James poured in 27 points to lead the Cavaliers past Washington 109-102. Drew Gooden chipped in 24 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, while Larry Hughes added 19 points and eight boards.

The Cavs were able to pull away by outscoring the Wizards 24-15 in the third quarter after carrying a three-point lead into the second half.

Antawn Jamison led the Wizards with 31 points and ten rebounds.

Game Three is Saturday in Washington.