Los Angeles - Tired of being bullied, the Memphis Grizzlies came out of hibernation and put a bear hug on the Dallas Mavericks' dominance. O.J. Mayo scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half, while fellow rookie Marc Gasol of Spain added 19 and the Grizzlies ended a 13-game losing streak to the Mavericks with a 102-82 home-court victory on Sunday.
The Grizzlies earned their first win over the Mavericks since November 26, 2005 and stopped a four-game slide overall.
"It was a big statement," Grizzlies forward Hakim Warrick said. "Like that bully at school that is always coming and beating you up, and standing up to them. We were finally able to go out there and get that win against them. It was a big step for us."
Rudy Gay and Warrick had 18 points apiece for Memphis (11-23) which outscored its guests 26-14 in the final quarter to seal the convincing win.
German wunderkind Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 points, but just six in the second half, and Jason Terry added 18 for Dallas (20-13) which had its three-game winning streak stopped.
"We didn't have a good rhythm out there offensively for whatever reason," Terry said. "We definitely don't want to drop a game like this to a team we know we should beat. We need to get rid of this one, get it out of our minds quick."
Nowitzki had 22 first-half points, but Memphis led 50-45 as Gasol countered with 19.
"Marc did a really good job of carrying us in the first half offensively, until Rudy, O.J. and everyone else got going," Warrick explained.
With Mayo (10) and Gay (eight) combining for 18 points, Memphis carried a 76-68 advantage into the final frame. The gap grew to 91-76 and the Grizzlies stayed in front en route to their first home win over Dallas since February 17, 2004.
"You can be due on this league, but you have to make it happen," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "Memphis threw a great game at us and we couldn't match it. They came out like a team that was tired of losing games."
Elsewhere: New York Knicks 100, Boston Celtics 88 Wilson Chandler scored 15 of his career-high 31 points in the decisive 28-15 third quarter, and the Knicks ended an eight-game skid to the suddenly slumping Celtics.
Al Harrington had 30 points while David Lee collected 14 points with 14 rebounds for the Knicks (13-19) who had dropped seven of their last eight. However, they limited their guests to 35 second-half points on 13-of-44 shooting to earn their first win over the reigning NBA Champions since March 23, 2005.
Paul Pierce scored 31 points and Ray Allen added 16 for the Celtics (29-6) who have slipped to 2-4 since a 27-2 start. Kevin Garnett finished with a season-low six points, but none in the second half, after getting kicked in the right calf in the third quarter.
LA Lakers 100, Portland Trail Blazers 86 Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, Spain's Pau Gasol added 19 as the surging Lakers overcame a slow start to bounce the Trail Blazers and move atop the NBA standings (27-5) with their sixth consecutive victory and 15th straight home win.
Leading by one at halftime, Bryant (nine) and Gasol (eight) combined for 17 points and Derek Fisher drilled two three-pointers as the Lakers outscored their guests 30-16 in the third quarter to open up an 81-66 cushion.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points with 11 rebounds to pace the Trail Blazers (20-14) who shot just 39 per cent from the field.
Washington Wizards 80, Cleveland Cavaliers 77 Antawn Jamison hit the go-ahead baseline jumper with 10.5 seconds left to cap a 26-point, 13-rebound effort and the Eastern Conference-worst Wizards (7-25) surprised the Cavaliers.
After Jamison's basket put the hosts ahead, 79-77, LeBron James, drove the left side for the potential game-tying layup, but the Cavs' superstar was whistled for a walking violation. Caron Butler made a free throw to seal the home win.
James topped Cleveland (27-6) with 30 points, 10 assists and six rebounds.
Toronto Raptors 108, Orlando Magic 102 Anthony Parker poured in a season-best 26 points, Chris Bosh had 23 with 10 rebounds and the host Raptors overcame Dwight Howard's career-tying high 39-point effort to beat the Magic.
Rashard Lewis had 20 points for Orlando (26-8) which still owns the league's best road record at 12-5.
Detroit Pistons 88, LA Clippers 87 Allen Iverson was credited with the game-winning basket when Al Thornton was called for goal-tending his driving scoop shot with 4.9 seconds left, lifting the Pistons to their seventh straight win while sending the Clippers to their seventh consecutive loss.
Rodney Stuckey had 24 points, Tayshaun Prince, 20 while Iverson finished with 18 and 10 assists for Detroit (21-11) which has won the last 12 meetings in the series.
Eric Gordon led the Clippers (8-26) with a career-best 31 points, but missed the potential game-winning 15-foot jumper at the buzzer. Marcus Camby had 14 and grabbed 20 rebounds.
dpa-prl
050651 GMT Jan 09
