Mavericks' 17-Game Winning Streak Ends

One day after their most lopsided win of the season, the Dallas Mavericks' 17-game winning streak ended with a thud at Golden State. <br/><br/>Mickael Pietrus scored 20 points as the Warriors emphatically

Tuesday, March 13th 2007, 5:49 am

By: News On 6

One day after their most lopsided win of the season, the Dallas Mavericks' 17-game winning streak ended with a thud at Golden State.

Mickael Pietrus scored 20 points as the Warriors emphatically snapped the seventh-longest streak in NBA history, dominating the league-best Mavericks throughout a 117-100 victory Monday night.

The blowout was surprising for both Golden State and Dallas (52-10), which hadn't lost since Jan. 25 at Chicago.

``They came out swinging, and we were never ready for the attack,'' the Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki said. ``We were backpedaling all game long. We were just never really ready to play.''

Dallas beat the Los Angeles Lakers by 36 points Sunday night to improve to 38-2 since Dec. 11. However, the Mavs struggled offensively and played awful defense against the Warriors' up-tempo offense, falling behind by 17 in the first half and 29 in the third quarter.

``We weren't here tonight,'' Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said. ``We just didn't have it. We got outplayed and worked and hustled, but our guys are professional. They don't have many nights like this, so we'll bounce back. ... This leaves a bad taste in our mouth. We don't like to play like this.''

Jason Terry scored 16 points, but the defending Western Conference champions never were competitive in their fourth straight loss to the Warriors. Nowitzki had just 13 turnovers on 3-for-11 shooting and committed seven turnovers.

In the other NBA games Monday night, it was: Phoenix 103, Houston 82; Charlotte 119, Orlando 108; Toronto 108, Milwaukee 93; and New Jersey 113, Memphis 102.

The Mavericks are the first club in NBA history with three winning streaks of 12 games or longer in the same season.

Eight players scored at least eight points for Golden State, including 16 apiece from Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington, Andris Biedrins and Jason Richardson. The Warriors also forced Dallas into 23 turnovers and erratic shooting.

``It was a combination of everything,'' Warriors coach Don Nelson said. ``It was just time. Seventeen is enough. We just happened to be the lucky guys.''

The Warriors improbably have been the Mavericks' toughest regular-season opponent recently. They played perhaps their best game of the season while winning for the fourth time in five games overall to stay in the playoff race despite their 30-36 record.

``This is a huge win for us,'' the Warriors' Baron Davis said. ``They're coming in (with) a streak of 17 games in a row, and they were looking invincible. The fact that we came out and played at a high level really, really gave us a lot of confidence. ... We'll definitely be in the playoffs if we continue to play like this.''

Nowitzki went scoreless in the second quarter, and was whistled for a technical foul while chirping while he was on the bench.

Bobcats 119, Magic 108

Derek Anderson had 24 points and 10 assists and host Charlotte snapped an eight-game losing streak.

Raymond Felton added 21 points and Gerald Wallace had 20 points and nine assists for the Bobcats, who had a team-record 14 3-pointers and 39 assists.

Dwight Howard had 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic, who have lost three straight and 10 of 12.

Nets 113, Grizzlies 102

Vince Carter scored 30 points and Mikki Moore added a career-high 24 to help visiting New Jersey snap a five-game losing streak. Richard Jefferson had 18 points and Bostjan Nachbar added 14 for the Nets.

Pau Gasol scored 19 points and Chuck Atkins and Rudy Gay had 17 apiece for Memphis, which remained the only team in the league without consecutive wins.

Raptors 108, Bucks 93

At Milwaukee, Chris Bosh scored 25 points and T.J. Ford had 19 points and nine assists to lead Toronto.

Ford, in his second game in Milwaukee since an offseason trade, had 12 points, six assists, two steals and a blocked a shot in the first quarter.

Michael Redd scored 29 points and Charlie Bell had 25 for the Bucks.

Suns 103, Rockets 82

Leandro Barbosa matched his career best with his second 32-point performance in three games and host Phoenix improved to 10-1 since the All-Star break.

Shawn Marion had 14 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Suns, who beat Houston for the sixth time in a row. Boris Diaw added 15 points for Phoenix, which had six players in double figures.

Houston's Tracy McGrady scored 19 points on just 8-for-28 shooting, and Yao Ming finished with 10 points.