Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010

DALLAS (AP) Dirk Nowitzki changed his look and that changed his luck.

Catch me if you can: Spurs guard James Anderson drives past Bobcats center Nazr Mohammed in first-half action on Monday in Charlotte, N.C. San Antonio beat Charlotte 95-91. AP PHOTO

Nowitzki scored 25 points, including the go-ahead jumper with less than 20 seconds to play, and the Dallas Mavericks snapped Boston's five-game winning streak with a 89-87 victory over the Celtics on Monday night.

Jason Terry added 17 points, and Tyson Chandler had 12 points and 13 rebounds for Dallas.

On Saturday night, Nowitzki played poorly, going scoreless in the fourth quarter and committing seven turnovers in a home loss to Denver.

He had his longish blond hair cropped into a buzz cut during the day on Monday, then helped his team grind out a win over one of the league's elite teams.

"Dirk cut his hair," Terry said. "He's back to his MVP status. Tonight, he wasn't going to settle."

Warriors 109, Raptors 102

In Toronto, Stephen Curry scored a season-high 34 points and Monta Ellis added 28 as Golden State beat the Raptors. Ellis, the NBA's leading scorer, fell heavily after a collision under Toronto's basket late in the fourth quarter. He remained down for several minutes before being helped up and walking slowly to the locker room. Ellis topped 25 points for the third time in seven games.

Magic 93, Hawks 89

In Orlando, Dwight Howard had 27 points and 11 rebounds as the Magic continued their recent reign over Atlanta with a victory in a rematch of last season's lopsided Eastern Conference semifinal.

Spurs 95, Bobcats 91

In Charlotte, Manu Ginobili scored 26 points, including a driving layup with 4.9 seconds left to end Charlotte's late comeback bid as San Antonio held on for a win.

Grizzlies 109, Suns 99

In Memphis, Zach Randolph had 23 points and 20 rebounds while Rudy Gay added 22 points to help the hosts defeat Phoenix.

Bulls 94, Nuggets 92

In Chicago, Derrick Rose scored 18 points, including eight during a furious fourth quarter rally, to help the Bulls beat Denver.

We welcome your opinions. Click to send a message to the editor.