The Dallas Mavericks battled past the previously unbeaten Houston Rockets 107-98 in Monday's only scheduled NBA game, with Jason Terry coming off the bench to spark the victory with 31 points.
The guard scored 16 of the Mavericks' final 37 points as Dallas grinded out the victory despide missing an injured Devin Harris and with Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard both in foul trouble.
"Obviously without those guys, I have to be more aggressive and assertive with taking my shots and looking for openings," Terry, who was 11-of-17 from the floor, told reporters.
"We were getting turnovers, getting stops, and that allowed me to get out on the break and create some early offense," he added.
Houston (3-1) led 75-70 late in the third quarter before Terry went on a run of 10 consecutive points.
His three-pointer followed by two jumpers in the closing minute gave Dallas a 77-75 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Terry then hit another three-pointer to start the final frame before Houston rallied to regain the lead, going up 88-86 up on a pair of Tracy McGrady free throws with a little over six minutes remaining.
Howard then scored five straight points to give Dallas a 91-88 lead and the Mavericks stayed ahead for the remainder of the contest.
Howard finished with 21 points and Nowitzki had 19, but was only 7-of-20 from the field.
Jerry Stackhouse added 16 points on his 33rd birthday and DeSagana Diop contributed 10 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Mavericks (3-1).
The Rockets got 35 points from McGrady and 21 points and 11 rebounds from Yao Ming.
"McGrady and Yao are tough," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said.
"There's no real trick defenses. You just got to work as hard as you can and hope they miss some shots."
Source: China Daily/Agencies
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