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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
TORONTO (AP) -- Steve Nash put on a show in his home country.
Nash, a Canadian Olympic star, had a career-high 27 points and
Dirk Nowitzki scored 13 of of his 29 points in the fourth quarter
as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Toronto Raptors 115-105 Friday
night.
|  | | Steve Nash was 12-for-16 from the field for the Mavericks Friday night. |
"I got my first career-high in Vancouver, and to get one in
Toronto is a great feeling," Nash said. "A lot of people are
rooting for me here, so to have a good game was really exciting for
me."
Nash, who received a loud ovation before the game for leading
Canada to upsets over Australia and Yugoslavia at the Summer
Olympics in Sydney, made his first 11 shots.
"Steve was the difference," Nowitzki said. "He's been
aggressive all year. You can see what see what confidence does for
you. In the last two years he was passing up a lot of shots, and we
told him he's one of the best shooters in the league. He's really
done it this year and he did it tonight."
Nash finished 12-for-16 from the field with eight assists.
Nowitzki scored nine straight points during a 19-4 Dallas run
bridging the third and fourth quarters. Hubert Davis' free throw
gave Dallas an 102-86 lead with just under five minutes remaining,
but Vince Carter made a spectacular alley-oop dunk and Toronto went
on a 15-2 run as Carter scored 11 points, narrowing the lead
106-101 with 1:15 remaining.
Nash ended the run with a driving layup, and Davis made a
3-pointer to give Dallas a 109-101 lead with 48 seconds left. Shawn
Bradley then made two free throws to ice the victory.
"Steve was great in front of his country," Bradley said. "He
passed the ball when he needed to. He made shots when he needed to.
You have to take your hat off to him, and give him the game ball."
Carter scored 33 for the Raptors, who have lost three straight.
The Raptors held a team meeting after the game.
"Oak said it best, you want to be warrior, you have to go out
there and act like it. You have to go out and play 48 minutes,"
Carter said.
Michael Finley added 20 for Dallas.
Nash scored 19 points on 9-for-9 shooting in the first half, but
Toronto converted 12 turnovers into 18 points and led 62-54 at
intermission.
Game
notes
Nash's previous career best was 26 points last Dec. 30
against Houston. ... Heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis sat
courtside. Lewis won a gold medal for Canada at the Seoul Olympics
in 1988. ... Toronto's Antonio Davis missed his second straight
game with a strained left groin. ... Mavericks owner Mark Cuban,
who was fined $250,000 Thursday for criticizing officials, sat
behind the team bench. ... Dallas coach Don Nelson is recovering at
a Utah hospital following surgery Thursday for prostate cancer.
Nelson will likely be released in 3-5 days and plans to recuperate
in Maui, Hawaii. Nelson's son Donn is the acting head coach. ...
Finley has played in 413 straight games. In his sixth season,
Finley has never missed a game.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Dallas Clubhouse
Toronto Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 121
Seattle 89
Dallas 115
Toronto 105
Golden State 100
Boston 88
Denver 100
Utah 87
Phoenix 108
Vancouver 76
Portland 119
Milwaukee 115
Charlotte 86
LA Clippers 73
Indiana 93
Sacramento 91
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Brent Barry loses the handle on the ball and Allen Iverson gets it for the bucket.
avi: 770 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Vince Carter Official Site
Mark Jackson Official Site
Lenny Wilkens Official Site
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