Los Angeles - The Dallas Mavericks added plenty of new players around superstar Dirk Nowitzki in the off ,season. So far, they seem to be a good fit. Nowitzki scored 29 points and the Mavericks welcomed back Josh Howard Saturday night in a 129-101 home thumping of the Toronto Raptors.
Jason Terry scored 19 points and Shawn Marion added 18 for Dallas, which shot 62 per cent (53-of-85) from the field - its best effort in nearly two years - and established a season high in points.
"Our chemistry is good," Terry said. "The lineups that coach has put out there together have been great. The timing, the passing, the scoring, the defence."
Howard missed the entire pre-season and the first five games recovering from off-season ankle surgery. A small forward, he has moved to shooting guard with the addition of Marion and made a nice transition, scoring 16 points.
"I'm not going to change my game because I think that will mess up the chemistry of the team," said Howard, who made 5-of-12 shots and 6-of-10 free throws.
"I thought the guys playing with him did a good job of understanding the situation of looking to get him opportunities to attack and do some things and get to the free-throw line," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said.
At times, Howard played small forward with Marion sliding up to power forward, the 2.13-metre Nowitzki supplanting Erick Dampier at centre, and Terry and Jason Kidd in the backcourt.
"[Howard] helped us out tremendously," Terry said. "He gave us another scoring option, and you get to look at the lineup that everyone wants to see - myself, J-Kidd, J-Ho [Howard], Shawn Marion at [power forward] and Dirk."
The Mavs (4-2) are still awaiting the return of injured forwards Drew Gooden and Tim Thomas, signed as free agents. They also added defensive-minded Quinton Ross and French rookie speedster Rodrigue Beaubois.
"The thing that we have got to be cautious of is feeling like since we shot 62 percent and won by a big margin, all is hunky-dory," Carlisle said.
Nowitzki scored 16 points in the first half to help the Mavs open a 55-48 lead. The German juggernaut had two three pointers in an 18-6 spurt that started the third quarter and widened the lead to 19 points.
Dallas never looked back, shooting 74 per cent (29-of-39) in the second half while Toronto appeared tired after Friday's win in New Orleans.
"We were a step slow tonight, and it showed," Raptors coach Jay Triano said. "They went past us when they wanted to, and they scored over the top of us when they wanted to."
Puerto Rico's Jose Barea had 12 assists for the Mavs, who made 10-of-20 three pointers.
Dallas native Chris Bosh had 26 points and 12 rebounds and Italy's Andrea Bargnani scored 22 points for Toronto (3-3), which has lost 10-straight visits to Dallas.
Elsewhere in the NBA:
LA Clippers 113, Memphis 110:
Hours after granting disgruntled star Allen Iverson an indefinite leave for personal reasons, the Grizzlies completed an 0-5 road trip, wasting 33 points from Rudy Gay. Chris Kaman had 26 points and nine rebounds for the Clippers, who have won three in a row.
Sacramento 104, Utah 99:
Rookie Tyreke Evans scored a season-high 32 points with seven assists as the Kings - playing without injured leading scorer Kevin Martin - stunned the host Jazz.
Martin, averaging 30 points per game, is to have surgery Monday on his fractured left wrist and miss eight weeks.
Deron Williams had 29 points and 15 assists for the Jazz, who were outscored 66-38 in the middle two quarters.
Boston 86, New Jersey 76:
Rajon Rondo scored 16 points and had five of Boston's league season-high 20 steals in its 10th-straight win over depleted New Jersey. Brook Lopez scored 23 points for the winless Nets (0-7), who had just eight players after guard Chris Douglas-Roberts was diagnosed with swine flu.
Atlanta 125, Denver 100:
Josh Smith collected 22 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and six blocks for the host Hawks, who had seven scorers in double figures and season highs in points and assists (30). Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points for the Nuggets, who have dropped two in a row after winning their first five.
Chicago 93, Charlotte 90:
John Salmons scored 27 points, and Joakim Noah added a career-high 21 with 16 rebounds and four blocks as the Bulls notched their third-straight win. France's Boris Diaw scored 20 points for the visiting Bobcats.
Milwaukee 102, New York 87:
Australia's Andrew Bogut scored 22 points, and rookies Jodie Meeks and Brandon Jennings added 19 and 17, respectively, for the host Bucks. The Knicks allowed 40 first-quarter points for the second-straight night.
